Mission of Brothers
by SuperHeroFan82
Summary: Batman is sick of Superman ignoring Conner and showing no concern for the boy or his training. So with a plan in mind he sets up a mission, one in which involves Conner to play the part of Dick's older brother. How do the two get along? And will Bruce make it permanent? Read and find out what happens in this tale about finding true family in a friend. One Chapter left!
1. Trust

**A/N:** I have had this idea for a Young Justice story for a while now. Hope you enjoy it.

 **Warnings:** Maybe some mild language.

* * *

Conner had been living at Mount Justice for nearly a year now, and in that time Superman has yet to pay much attention to him. He only ever to really cared about Robin. Batman on the other hand always praised him, always had a positive comment. He wondered sometimes what went through Superman's mind to think that after all this time he would think of him as evil. His only friends seemed to be the team and Wolf, the hybrid that they rescued.

It surprised Conner a little when Batman called him to the conference room one afternoon just after getting back from a mission. Deep in thought Conner walked along the deserted corridor to the conference room. He was so lost in thought he nearly bumped into Robin.

"Hey, Conner. Batman call you in here too?" Robin asked quietly.

Nodding he replied back. "Yea, though I don't know why. Would he send the two of us on a mission alone?"

"Anything is possible I guess, but usually he sends us in a bigger group then just two. But we are not going to find anything out by standing here in the hall." Robin motioned for the other teen to follow him.

Batman stood in the doorway. "Robin, Superboy, stop lagging and get in here."

Conner and Robin walked into the conference room, took a seat as Batman closed the door and locked it then took a seat across from the two teens.

"OK boys, there are a couple of things I need to talk to you two about." Batman started to say.

"Are we in trouble?" Conner interrupted softly.

Knowing where that came from Batman replied. "No, look, boys, I have a mission for you two. But the thing is after knowing you for several months now Conner and this mission will undoubtedly reveal Robin and my identity."

Robin sat up straighter and asked. "Wait, so this mission isn't for us as superheroes? But in our civilian forms?"

Conner looked over at Robin then back to Batman. "You trust me with your identities?"

Smirking slightly Batman said. "Yes, I do Conner. Robin remove your mask."

Glancing at the door nervously Batman told his protege. "It's locked Robin, go ahead."

Robin took the sides of his mask and removed it, Batman followed suit only with his cowl. Taking a deep breath Batman told Conner.

"I am Bruce Wayne and he's Dick Grayson. The reason I am telling you our identities is because I believe something is amiss with one of my companies. I have to take Dick with me, but, I don't know if we will run into trouble or not. That's where you come in, I want you to pretend to be Dick's older brother. I will be gone to meetings most of the time but Dick needs someone to be around while I am gone."

Conner swallowed hard, this was something new for him. No one ever trusted him this much, he didn't even know the other teammate's identities and he was around them more often then Robin.

"Why me? I mean... He already knows Kid Flash better than me."

Batman nodded and knew the boy was going to hesitate. "I know, you have a filter on that mouth of yours and can keep silent when asked."

Dick struggled not to laugh as he explained. "In another word, Kid has a big mouth and annoys the hell out of Batman."

"Language Dick." Bruce chided the boy. Dick shrugged and told his mentor. "Hey, I'm only speaking the truth over here."

"How-how long are we going to be gone? Where are we going? W-will Superman be angry if I leave the mountain?"

Bruce knew about Conner's fear of angering Superman, that boy scout wanted tabs on the boy at all times but showed no concern for the kid's actual safety or well-being.

"Let me deal with him, he won't be angry with you if he knows your with me."

Dick piped up. "Yea cause Batman can kick Superman's butt any day of the week!"

Choosing to ignore his surrogate son Bruce told Conner. "Your name for this mission will be Conner Kent-Wayne. If anyone makes a connection between you and Clark I will dismiss it entirely and explain there is no relation. It will all work out. To answer your questions we will be gone for about a week or so and we will be traveling to Dick's place of birth, Rome. That is the major reason why he is going, aside from the fact I don't want to leave him in Gotham alone and the team will be just fine without him for a week or so. As with you too."

Dick smiled and told him. "I can speak the language there fluently and understand more words than what I have managed to teach Bruce. I lived in Rome with the circus for about three years before we came to the states and traveled. I was also born in Rome, so I know the ins and outs of the country."

Nodding at the younger boy Conner asked. "I still don't understand something, Batman."

"And that is?" Bruce asked gently.

Both father and son could see the hesitation on Conner's face. They knew he was nervous since no one cared to show him much trust in the time he had been with them.

"Why do you trust me so much? I mean... no one else has..."

Bruce got up and walked around the table sitting directly beside Conner. The young boy had his head bent low and was looking down at the table when Bruce turned the chair so Conner was facing him.

"Conner look at me. I know it seems scary, but you have to understand that not everyone is against you. Trust is something that is earned, over the last several months you have earned my trust. And as you can tell that is saying something because I don't trust someone so quickly. Do you know how long it took me to trust Superman?"

Conner met Bruce's eyes and shook his head.

"It took a long time Conner, it took nearly 2 or 3 years before I trusted him. The fact I trust you in less amount of time is saying something. Superman doesn't trust easily either, and it took him just as long to trust me as well. We fought multiple times before I let him get anywhere near Gotham without wanting to 'kick his butt' as Dick so nicely put it. I didn't let Clark near Dick when he first came to live with me. My reasons come from so many people out there wanting to take advantage of my busy lifestyle I didn't want Clark to think he could walk in and take him from me. I got angry several times at him..."

"And you still do!" Dick chimed in.

Shaking his head Bruce told Conner, ignoring Dick's comment. "The point is Conner everyone deserves a chance. You're just a kid, and from what I have learned over the last several years is kids thrive on trust. So, we leave in a weeks time; you will come with us back to Wayne Manor tonight and stay with us to get briefed on what you need to know you will also be considered my son for the next few weeks. Do you think you can handle that?"

Conner gave him a rare smile and said firmly. "Yes sir, you can count on me."

Smiling Bruce patted the boy's knee and told him. "That's my boy. Alright, Dick, help him get packed and bring him to the Batcave so he can be briefed on what is going on."

Dick put his mask back on just as Batman put his cowl back on. "Yes, sir! Right away sir!"

Standing up quickly Robin told Conner. "Come on! This is gonna be fun!"

Rolling his eyes Conner told the shorter boy. "You know I don't have hardly anything to pack right?"

Racing to the door he told his friend over his shoulder. "I know, but the next couple of weeks are going to be fun!"

Batman grabbed Robin by the cape as he flew past him and said firmly. "Did you have some of Kid Flash's candy again?"

Smiling mischievously Robin told him. "Maybe... maybe not..."

"Oh great... Conner make sure he stays focused enough to get back to the Batcave. He's too hyper right now to think clearly. How he stayed still as long as he did is beyond me." Batman told the calmer teen in the room.

Conner chuckled and told him. "I will try, does this happen very often?"

Batman let Robin go and told Conner. "Only when he knows he is coming home for a while and knows that there is a no sugar policy per Alfred."

Conner nodded in understanding and knew he would find out soon who Alfred was, he watched Robin dart out the door about as fast as Flash himself.

"I will make sure he doesn't bring any home with him when we are ready to head to the Batcave."

Nodding Batman told him honestly. "He knows what will happen if he smuggles candy home, I don't think we have much to worry about. But thanks, I will see you boys soon."

Once Conner got Robin to focus again they went to Conner's quarters and began packing his things. Wolf laid on the floor near the far wall watching his friend pack. Dick noticed how few items he actually had. He owned 4 shirts and 2 pairs of blue jeans. There was no way he was going to be able to handle over 2 weeks without a wardrobe. Dick knew he had lived like this for months, but Alfred wouldn't think it to be proper to live with barely any possessions at all. He pulled his phone out and text Bruce, telling him what Conner was going to need.

Conner's wolf was laying on the other side of the room watching his friend pack. The large animal had grown quite attached to the teen ever since his rescue several months before.

Conner was silent as he pulled his meager possessions out of the closet and put them in a duffle bag Dick let him borrow. Dick could see how tense Conner was and asked him. "What's bothering you?"

Conner looked over at Robin and replied. "I can't help thinking... Superman might get really angry if he comes to check in on me and I'm not here..."

Robin was sitting on the foot of Conner's bed kicking his legs against the mattress. "Eh, he can get over it. Besides it's not like he comes over daily to check on you."

Noticing the grim expression on his friends face Dick put the puzzle pieces together. "Wait... he makes nightly visits doesn't he?"

Conner nodded and told him softly. "He really doesn't trust me, Robin, he's never come right out and said it but I can tell he doesn't."

"Has he ever hurt you?" Robin asked curiously. Seeing the older teen shake his head Robin asked. "So what makes you so sure he hates you?"

He zipped up the duffel bag and told his friend sharply. "He only comes around when it's convenient for him. I heard Batman tell him one time that he needs to treat me like I'm his son. Well, guess what, he doesn't. He treats me like I have committed a huge crime! I didn't ask to get created!"

Conner's voice began to rise causing the hair to bristle on the back of Wolf's neck and the animal stood up looking at the boys cautiously. "Calm down Conner. I get it." Dick replied back, he looked over and saw Wolf start to raise.

Letting out a huge sigh Conner grabbed his chair from his desk and turned it around sitting in front of Dick with his arms across the back of the chair.

"What's it like? Having Batman as a dad?" Conner asked curiously. Wolf came over and sat beside his friend.

Dick chuckled and told him. "Pretty cool really, there are times I hate it. Cause I have extra training, a ton of rules to follow and crap like that. He's so overprotective, but I could have wound up with much worse..."

Conner frowned and asked. "How do you mean?"

Shaking his head Dick told him. "I don't wanna talk about it here. I will tell you later. We have a couple of weeks of living together I can tell you the story once we are back at the Manor."

Dick's phone buzzed and he saw Bruce letting him know they needed to hurry up. "Well, we need to head out. I told the others that Batman was taking us on a mission out of the country. The Justice League is supposed to watch over Gotham while we are gone." Conner petted Wolf and spoke to the large animal softly and then they walked out of his room and towards the Zeta-Tubes.

They were stopped by a firm voice just before making it all the way to the Tubes. "Where are you going?"

Both boys turned to see Superman standing there. Robin spoke up first. "Batman called the two of us for a mission. We are headed to Gotham City."

Conner frowned and told Robin. "We don't owe him an explanation. Come on Rob."

Using Robin's nickname he started towards the tube again. Superman noticed the coordinates and told Robin. "You're taking him home with you?"

Robin knew that Superman had issues with his clone, but since when has he given a damn about where Robin takes Conner.

"Yeah, that's where the mission is." Robin started to say.

"You have a problem with him taking me to Gotham City? It's on _Batman_ 's orders that I go. It doesn't concern you."

Superman frowned deeply at Conner. "When it concerns you then it is my busyness."

"Nice time to finally care. Why are you so suddenly worried about why I am going to Gotham? Is the mighty _Superman_ jealous because _he_ wasn't asked to go on this mission?"

Superman walked closer to the boy and told him in a dangerous voice. "Don't get smart with me boy."

"Then stop pretending to give a hoot about me! You're never around anyway! So just go back to the Watch Tower and keep an eye on your own city! You arguing with me is keeping Batman waiting! So unless you wanna deal with him then you will step out of our way."

Looking over at Robin who was leaning against the wall texting on his phone Superman asked. "Robin, what is this mission you two are going on?"

Without looking up from his phone he lazily told Superman. "Ask him, he's standing right behind you."

Frowning Superman turned and found none other than Batman standing directly behind him, the caped crusader must have come in through one of the other Zeta-Tubes without any of them knowing it.

The look on Batman's face was dark and very dangerous. "Kent, I suggest you allow the boys to pass and stop wasting time. I have to brief them on this mission before they go. If I wanted your help I would have asked you."

Conner stepped over beside Robin once Batman took over the conversation and whispered. "Did you text him?"

Giving the older boy a sly grin Robin nodded silently and told him back. "Yep, Superman wasn't backing down and we really needed to get back to Gotham before patrol tonight. That was why Batman was so urgent in us getting home. He wanted to brief you before taking you out on patrol with us tonight."

Five minutes later Batman stood before the two whispering boys. "Come on, let's go."

Conner glanced over at a defeated Superman and followed the others to the Zeta Tube, he could see the warning look he was receiving in Superman's eyes as he left the mountain.

* * *

Once in the Batcave, he looked around in awe. "This is where you live?"

Batman lowered his cowl. "Partially, this is where we operate from as Batman and Robin. We live upstairs, Robin go change while I brief our guest on the rules between the manor and the cave."

Nodding Robin left to go put on civilian clothes. Conner turned to Batman.

"Have a seat Superboy," Batman told him, as they walked towards the computer.

Conner sat in the computer chair as Batman stood to face him.

"When you're here in the cave we don't use our civilian names, here we go by our superhero names. Now Robin disobeys half the time and uses real names but I get on to him for it."

"Who's going to hear your real names down here? Does this cave echo that badly?" He asked curiously.

"No, it doesn't. There have been times that we bring criminals here to interrogate them, and the last thing we want is them figuring out our identities. It's a good rule to go by even if no one is here that can hear us. It forms a habit so you don't slip during an interrogation." Batman explained to the young hero.

Nodding in understanding Batman continued. "Another rule is that no one takes out any of the vehicles unless you have my permission. Since you will be coming with us on patrol tonight I will let you borrow the Batcycle. Since your 16 and are old enough to drive I will let you use it, but, you don't go anywhere without me."

Batman could tell Conner was hanging on to his every word. "Every morning we get up early and train before breakfast. Now if we have a late patrol then we hold off until later, or just skip it entirely for one day. Alfred is my butler, cooks for us so if you're hungry then let him know and he will get you something."

After a few moments, Batman asked. "Does this sound reasonable?"

Nodding Conner replied. "Yes, sir."

Giving him a rare grin Batman told him. "Robin should be finished changing soon so I am going to go change too and then we will head upstairs. Just sit back and relax or explore if you wish, we will be out shortly."

Fifteen minutes later Dick and Bruce came out of the changing area to find Conner exploring the cave but not wandering too far into the cave. Dick ran up to him.

"Pretty cool isn't it! This place is huge!"

Conner turned and asked. "Have you ever explored the tunnels?"

"Not alone, no, I always have Bruce or Alfred with me. There are a couple of tunnels I can go down by myself they are dead ends and very safe to hang out in." Dick replied back.

"What about the others?" Conner asked curiously.

Bruce explained to him. "Some of the caverns have caved in, some have a lot of bats in them that can swarm if disturbed. In a few there are drop offs and cliffs in them, once I was showing Superman one of the caverns... let's just say it's a good thing he can fly. Found out fast that the tunnel didn't go as deep as we thought the next second he dropped from view. He got a kick out of scaring me that day, this was many years ago, though, long before I took Robin in; he had used his X-ray vision to look ahead and had seen the drop off before I did. I closed up that tunnel due to how dangerous it was, I never go down that one for any reason."

Dick spoke up again as he looked up at his friend. "Batman told me it was too dangerous to go near it. You think that fight back on the mountain before we came here was bad, you should have seen the fight they got into when Superman took me to that drop-off and showed me the bottom. Man, I thought for sure Superman was a dead man after that!" Dick told the older teen.

Bruce shook his head. "Alright boys, let's go upstairs. Alfred should be preparing dinner soon."

As they climbed the stairs Conner asked Dick. "So does Alfred know I'm coming?"

Smiling wide he told the older boy excitedly. "Yep and you have your own room here too! Alfred got it ready earlier. The manor is huge! You may get lost at first, I know I did before I got used to everything."

Keeping that in mind he waited as Bruce pushed aside something up ahead, once they passed through he looked back and saw it was a large Grandfathers clock. He was silent as Bruce lead them down a long hall and up some stairs to the second floor of the mansion. He passed by a door that had a 'Dick's Room' sign on it, they came to another room and Bruce turned and told him.

"This will be your room while you're here. Dick's room is two doors down and my room is across the hall from his. Then down the hall and to the right is the Study and to the left is the library."

Bruce told him as they walked to both locations, Conner was speechless as they looked around both rooms. When they got to the study after Dick showed him around the library, Bruce turned once again to Conner. "While you're here you will be given the same treatment that Dick gets. Same rules apply as well."

Conner nodded in understanding and told the man. "OK. Sounds fair."

Bruce looked up at the clock on the wall and turned to Dick. "Would you show him the rest of the house, I need to make a few phone calls and get things ready for our trip."

Dick smiled at him and replied. "Absolutely! Come on Conner! You're going to love this!"

Conner followed the enthusiastic 13-year-old out of the study and back down the hall. Conner was so overwhelmed by the size of the house as he followed Dick from room to room. His mind wondered to where Superman lived. He knew he didn't live up at the Watch Tower... And he knew Superman's secret identity so he figured he didn't own a huge mansion like this one.

Conner wasn't paying attention until he heard Dick's voice get louder.

"Conner! Hey, man you listening to me?" Dick had led him to the game room and was showing him the stacks of games sitting on the shelves.

"Do you play all of these?" Conner asked reading the titles to the games shaking the thoughts about Superman from his mind.

"Sometimes, but me and KF play these when he comes over. Clark too... but he doesn't come around much anymore. KF is there to fill in that gap."

"He's been ignoring you too huh?" Conner asked sarcastically.

"Yea he's changed in the last several months. But anyway, you have yet to meet Alfred! He should be down in the kitchen come on!" Dick lead the way as they made it to the first floor again. Conner followed after his energetic friend as they left the game room.

Conner paid close attention to where things were so he wouldn't get lost. The last thing he wanted was to burden Bruce or make him feel like he couldn't do anything on his own. He may have a temper and seem coldhearted at the mountain, but when he's around Robin he just can't seem to stay angry. Dick lead him to an enormous kitchen, with a huge breakfast bar that sat in the middle of it. The stove was made of titanium along with the refrigerator and dishwasher. The long stone counter top seemed to run for miles, but the smell of food cooking caught his nose and he suddenly remembered he was hungry.

"Hey, Alfred! This is Conner, Conner Alfred." Dick introduced them happily.

Alfred turned from the stove when Dick entered and was looking Conner up and down studying him curiously, the boy looked so much like Clark Kent but different in some ways.

"Hello there young sir, it is nice to meet you. I trust you will find your stay here most enlightening. Now if there is anything you might need please inform Master Bruce, Master Dick or myself, and we will see to it that your needs are met." Alfred told him with a genuine smile on his face.

Conner was in information overload, this older man before him was treating him so kindly. He wasn't sure how to take it. "Thanks, Mr. Alfred..."

"Just Alfred if you would sir. Being here you will be treated like one of the family." Alfred told him with a smile still on his face as he turned back to the stove to retrieve the stuffed lobster tails that were to be dinner that evening. Conner saw the food and asked Dick. "What are those?"

Dick looked up at him and replied. "Those are lobster tails, they are so good! Oh and Alfred doesn't allow sugar so we don't have cereal or pop tarts like we do at the mountain. The only time we get anything real sweet is when we have waffles or pancakes. Then he puts the best maple syrup you have ever tasted on them!"

Nodding in understanding Conner allowed his curiosity to get the best of him as he left Dick's side and walked over to the stove. Alfred smiled over at him and told him. "Does this look suitable young sir?"

Conner glanced over and told the butler. "Sure I guess... I've never had these before."

Nodding in understanding the old butler asked. "I will prepare something different just in case you do not like what is served. Granted when I was your age we went hungry if we did not like what was served, I, however, do not abide by the old ways. If one does not like the food, then something else can be made."

Footsteps could be heard entering the kitchen. "I see you have met Alfred, I'm afraid the phone call I made earlier requires me to go to the office. I'm sorry Alfred, I will heat up dinner when I get back. This is too important to just hold off until tomorrow."

"Very well sir, but I must caution you that it is unwise to reheat seafood. I shall have something different prepared for your arrival home. Will Master Batman still be making an appearance tonight?"

Bruce thought about it and looked at the boys, while he trusted Conner, he didn't trust that Dick would behave without him. "No, it's going to be late when I get back, too late to go out and do a late night patrol. Sorry boys, you will just have to hang out here for the evening. Dick, remember your bedtime and I will see you both in the morning."

Conner looked over at Dick. "Bedtime?"

Dick was sitting at the breakfast bar kicking his legs against the metal of the chair and said. "Yea, unlike the mountain I have to be in bed by 9:30 ten at the latest. On school nights I have to be in bed by 9, no option there. Some nonsense about kids needing proper nights sleep. Like being a superhero doesn't require me to miss that bedtime! "

Alfred had moved over to the sink and firmly laid a hand down on the counter top, hard enough to make the pan rattle next to him. "Master Richard, keep that up and you will be going to bed much sooner rather than later young man."

Bruce had walked out of the room but was with in ear-shot of Dick's comment.

"Richard Grayson! I suggest if you're going to complain about going to bed on time you might not want to do it when adults are still within earshot!" Bruce bellowed from outside the kitchen door.

Ducking his head Dick said loud enough for Bruce to hear. "Sorry, won't happen again."

Alfred came to stand in front of Dick at the bar. "See that it doesn't. Just because one of your Young Justice friends are in our home does not mean rules change. We will how ever, be lenient with Master Conner until he gets used to things. You, on the other hand, have had years to get used to rules, he has a much shorter time getting used to ways of living in a home. Do I make myself clear young man?"

Looking over at Conner who was looking back wide-eyed at seeing his teammate getting lectured he said to Alfred. "Yes, sir, clear as crystal."

"Good, now, go get washed up for dinner. It will be served in approximately 10 minutes."

Getting off his perch Dick left the kitchen with Conner hot on his heals. "What was that about?" He asked slightly dumbfounded.

Dick looked back and gave him a sly grin. "I wanted to give you a taste of the other side of Batman. The Bruce Wayne side, he can have a temper if you get him riled enough. If he had said my middle name then I would have been grounded from patrol until after we get back to Gotham from our trip. As long as my middle name is left out of a statement, I'm good."

Still, dumbfounded Conner followed the young acrobat to the first-floor bathroom where they took turns washing their hands and face before heading to the dining room for dinner. Conner wasn't sure about this way of life but he was learning fast. And he could tell that arguing with Bruce was a dead end.

* * *

 **A/N:** Reactions? Please tell me what you think of this so far. I fixed the error that a kind reviewer told me about! Thank you Boogalee99 for letting me know about my error. I just simply didn't catch it when I wrote it or edited.


	2. Remembering the past

**A/N:** WOW! **Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all of the reviews, faves and follows!** You gave me tears with all the love I received on Saturday and on Sunday for the story! As a thank you here is a 'brotherly' moment between Dick and Conner just for all of you! **I will be updating once a week.** Be prepared for another update Saturday morning.

* * *

After dinner, which Conner thoroughly enjoyed, the boys headed to the game room to hang out and play for a while before bed. Sitting on an overstuffed bean bag chair with a wireless black controller in hand Conner asked. "So is now the time to ask about your past? You told me you would tell me later."

Dick didn't look back at his friend from where he laid on his stomach propped up on his elbows playing a video game with Conner. "I used to be part of a circus. My parents and I, we were called 'The Flying Graysons'. We were trapeze artists."

Dick trailed off as he got into the game and lost his train of thought. He still had a hard time talking about his parents, but he did promise Conner an explanation.

"What happened to them? Your folks I mean." Conner pressed on carefully.

This time, Dick paused the game and twisted around so he had his head propped on his hand. "They were killed... this mob boss, Tony Zucco, he tried to talk my dad into giving him protection money. For what I don't know. But anyway my father refused his offer, Zucco was furious, he pushed me around a little and my father got angry and Zucco threatened him with his 'brothers'. You should have seen the look on Zucco's face when I announced that I had called the police.

No sooner did I make that confession did Batman show up. He was able to arrest one of the 'brothers' but the others got away. Two nights later we were doing our normal act on the trapeze when the wires broke holding my parents... I watched as they fell to their deaths. Bruce was in the crowd when it happened. At the funeral, he told me he would take me in since he understood what it was like to watch the very people who loved you get ripped away because of criminals. It was trying at first, I tested his patients, still do on occasion. But he's been great to me, taken me in given me literally everything. An orphan couldn't ask for more."

Dick was silent for the longest time with a far away look in his eyes, it still hurt after all these years to talk about his parents.

Conner asked after a few minutes. "How did you become Robin?"

Dick chuckled at the memory and told him. "I had been here for maybe 3 or 4 months before I found the Batcave. When I found out Batman had been tailing Zucco I donned a disguise and followed him. Without permission mind you. He was at the circus, Batman, and Zucco when I found them. He had somehow overpowered Batman and had him on the knife thrower target and was throwing knives at him. I saw that I was going to become an orphan all over again if I didn't do something so I used a Batarang and knocked the knife away from Batman that was meant to kill him. In my act of revenge and pent up anger, I overpowered Zucco for a short time before he knocked me senseless. Thankfully it gave Batman the time to escape and he saved me.

He admitted when we watched the Police take Zucco away that he didn't think he had what it took to raise me, but admitted that Batman did. So Robin was born that night."

Conner was silent for a moment, taking in everything he had just learned about the youngest member of the team. "What were your parents like?"

Conner didn't miss the far away look in Dick's eyes as the boy responded. "Well, my mom loved to cook. She could make a meatloaf so good that it would give Alfred a run for his money. I remember how she used to tell me all the time 'you can do it, honey, one day you will fly like your dad and me. And my little Robin will take flight'. That was her nickname for me..."

"That's your superhero name too?" Conner asked questioningly.

"Yea, when I told Batman what I wanted to be called he was all 'like the bird?' I told him 'it's a family name.' I wasn't kidding about that. When my grappling hook latches on and I am flying through the air behind Batman I feel like I am back on the trapeze again. It's the best feeling in the world... You'll find out what it's like tomorrow night when we go out on patrol."

Conner asked him softly. "What was your dad like?"

Looking down at the carpet Dick let out a sigh and told him. "He was great... my dad had been flying the trapeze since he was a kid and his father before him. Circus is in the blood, I guess you could say. I started training when I was four. When I was six my dad nearly gave my mom a coronary when he showed her a stunt me and dad could do without the safety of the net. But that's what dad liked... he liked the risk... he was brave, bold and daring... if someone told him he couldn't do something he would show them it could be done."

Conner didn't miss the tears welling up in his friend's eyes. "Sorry if I upset you."

Shaking his head Dick told him. "No, don't be sorry. It's the first time anyone has wanted to talk about them."

"Bruce has never asked?" Conner wanted to know.

"Oh, he asked at first, especially when I would wake up from nightmares screaming. I still cry at night but not as often. M'Gann came and woke me up once cause she sensed my distress and I didn't tell her it was a nightmare about my parents... I just told her I had a bad dream. It wasn't a total lie." Dick trailed off as his mind began to wander.

The boys were silent for a moment before Dick stood up and said. "Stay right here, I will be right back."

Conner watched the younger boy run from the room, he listened to his fading footsteps but could hear a door open from the second floor. Then running came back and got louder as Dick drew closer.

Running back into the room he skidded to a halt and told Conner holding a photo out for him to see. "This is them. My parents."

Conner took the offered photo and held it. Looking between the photo and Dick he said. "You look a lot like your dad, and you have your mom's eyes."

"I get that a lot." Dick replied.

"How tall were they? You look so little in this picture..." Conner commented.

Dick took the picture back and ran his fingers down it softly, absently he replied. "My mom was five foot eleven... and my dad was six foot two. My dad is... was just an inch taller than Bruce is. Sometimes at night if I see Bruce in the dark before he turns on the light he looks like my dad a little bit."

"I can see the comparison, they even look slightly alike. Mostly in build, and hair color." Conner remarked.

"There was this one time, I had a nightmare... apparently Bruce had been out as Batman and had just gotten home when I woke up screaming. He came to my room to see if I was alright. I remember sitting up in bed and seeing his form in the doorway. Now mind you I just woke up and was very confused. I called him dad. Even when I realized who it was I didn't correct myself and he didn't correct me at all. I still do it sometimes, but only when I wake up scared and disoriented from a nightmare, those are getting rare and far between."

They were silent for a few moments before Conner asked. "What about school? When we go on this mission you will be missing a lot of it?"

Dick gave him a half grin and replied. "No worries, Bruce took care of all that. I will be going on Thanksgiving break before too long anyway."

Frowning he asked. "What's Thanksgiving?"

"It's a holiday where we give thanks to everything and everyone we have in our lives. You see this country was found by these settlers that sparked a war with the natives, Indians. So as a peace offering they gave a giant meal that we all still celebrate once every November." Dick explained.

A knock on the door stopped any further questions as Alfred said. "Young sirs, you might want to consider the time."

They both looked up at the wall clock and saw it was almost 9 O'Clock, Dick let out a moan but quickly clamped his mouth shut when Alfred shot him a warning look. "Alright, come on Conner."

As they passed Alfred the old butler said. "Master Conner, I have taken the liberty to find you suitable sleepwear and have laid them on your bed. Will you need assistance in finding your room?"

Conner shook his head and said politely. "No sir, I am two doors down and on the left of Dick's..."

Pausing he looked over at Dick for confirmation. "Yep, that's right." Dick told him.

They both went to their respective rooms to crash for the night.

Conner couldn't help but think as he laid there in the oversized bed, about Superman, and everyone else in his life. He couldn't believe that Batman wanted him to help with a private mission. He eventually drifted off to sleep.


	3. Conner's First Day at Wayne Manor

The following morning Conner heard knocking on the bedroom door. He nearly forgot he was not at Mt. Justice.

"What!" He shouted to the person knocking nonstop on the wood.

Once the door popped open Dick announced. "Hey Conner, Bruce said to get up and head to breakfast. Then hit the training room after that."

Groaning the young superhero climbed out of bed and changed into a black t-shirt and blue jeans. He didn't like waking up early but he knew he had to. Making Batman mad was bad enough, he didn't want to find out the consequences of making his alter-ego mad. Dick had left shortly after seeing that Conner was getting up. Conner's thoughts drifted to the younger boy, the kid had a difficult start in life. Like himself, he had once been alone in this world. Granted that didn't last long but still it was something in common.

He was grateful for his good memory as he walked through the manor on his own this time. He looked around at the statues, pictures of Bruce's family along with old expensive looking paintings. He nearly passed the dining room as he looked up at the chandeliers that lined the high ceiling. Bruce was sitting at the head of a very long table with Dick sitting on one side and an empty spot on the other.

Bruce smiled at the boy when he entered the room. "Good morning, I trust you slept well?"

Conner nodded as he took his seat at the table, Bruce knew from the times of having Clark over that the boy was most likely going to carry on one-sided conversations this early in the morning. Like father like son neither did mornings.

Alfred brought in the morning newspaper as he set down two cups of steaming hot chocolate for the boys and a cup of coffee for Bruce. Conner looked at his cup curiously as Dick blew on his to cool it off. He followed the motion but didn't take a drink yet. He tried to make sure he didn't blow the contents of the mug all over Dick with his powerful lungs as he blew.

"How are you this morning Master Conner?" Alfred asked with a smile.

Conner looked into his cup curiously again before saying with a grumpy voice. "Just fine, thank you. What is this?" He asked smelling the contents of the mug.

They didn't ever have hot chocolate at the mountain so Conner had never seen it or smelled it before. Dick spoke up at Alfred's confused look. "It's hot chocolate, you'll like it. You like chocolate milk so you will like this. Think of it as hot milk with chocolate in it, Alfred makes the best."

Giving the cup a cautious look he softly blew on it to cool it down some more before taking a sip. "Hmm, this is pretty good. Thank you, Alfred."

Smiling Alfred told him pleased. "Your very welcome young sir. I shall have breakfast out shortly. Is there anything in particular that you like Master Conner?"

Shrugging Conner told him. "Normally I just have whatever the others are having, most of the time it's cold cereal or whatever concoction that M'gann came up with that she managed to burn."

Nodding in understanding Alfred told him. "I see, well you are in for a treat today then. I shall return shortly."

Conner was not used to being waited on, and he was definitely not used to a good hot breakfast. Bruce spoke from behind the newspaper. "Looks like there was a breakout at Arkham last night."

Groaning Dick asked. "Who this time?"

Conner frowned as he listened. "Joker again, I wish they would do a better job at keeping an eye on him," Bruce told his son.

"So I guess I know who we are going after tonight," Dick told his father.

Nodding Bruce continued to read, after a moment Bruce told his son. "Dick, when we go out, wear your long green tights instead of your shorts. We are expecting colder weather tonight."

Saluting his father over his breakfast Dick made no reply verbally as he continued eating.

Conner asked curiously after the exchange. "So who's Joker?"

Dick explained. "It's one of the super villains here in Gotham, he's a real mad man. We arrest him almost on a weekly basis, the police keep sending him back to the insane asylum but he keeps breaking out. In my opinion, they need to just chain him to the freakin wall! Never underestimate him, he is tricky. Remember those rules I told you about back at the mountain, they will be enforced big time tonight. I am not allowed out of earshot when it comes to Joker."

Bruce had looked over at Conner and noticed a questioning look in the boy's eye. "Joker has kidnapped him before, tortured him for hours before I could find him. With his acrobatic skills, I thought he would do fine on his own... I nearly lost him that night because even I underestimated that mad man. Dick's not complaining about that rule, he knows what can or will happen if he gets captured."

Dick snorted and told Bruce. "It was only 45 minutes! How did you come up with hours!"

Bruce sent him a look before answering. "You will be a father one day Dick Grayson, and I pray that you never have to find out what it's like to have your son missing for 45 minutes and not know where he is. And remember you were only just 10 at the time, I was still battling the Justice League to keep you going as a vigilante."

"Wasn't that when Superman found out about me being Robin?" Dick asked.

"Yes, he knew you only as Dick before, I thought he was going to fry me when he found out I was allowing a child to go out into the field. I kept reminding him how old he and I both were when we started out but he through back that you were not even a teen yet. I won in the end but still, the point is that arrogant bastard needs to learn that I know what's best for my own son." Bruce said hotly.

Conner fought not to laugh at Bruce's words about Superman. He took a drink of his now cooling hot chocolate to hid an amused grin that had formed on his face. Bruce glanced over and saw the boys amusement.

"Find that funny Conner?" Bruce asked with humor in his voice.

Conner almost didn't trust his own voice to respond. "Just a little, has he always been like this Bruce? Cold and uncaring?"

Bruce wanted to tell the boy no, but something in the boy's face made him rethink the question. In the past several months Superman has been nothing but cold to the boy, hateful even.

"To be completely honest, no... I don't know what exactly is going through that man's mind half the time. He was cold towards me for the longest time when we first met, although trust was the biggest issue between us. Still is on occasion, I can understand somewhat why he is so cautious with the world. He was bullied when he was your age, kids teased him because he had super strength and ripped his locker door of its hinges without meaning to. Or could run faster and jump higher than anyone. When we met I knew who he was even if he was in civilian form. I caught him changing once when I was in Metropolis on busyness as Bruce Wayne. I went and changed too when I saw he was actually losing a fight against his adversary. He couldn't decide if he wanted me to help or kick my butt, ignoring me for the most part he went about the fight.

We got into a heated argument that got me sent half way across town with only one punch. I figured out then that the Man of Steel had a temper from hell. He found me of course and literally through me back to Gotham. But when it happened that we were forced to team up again, this time in Gotham, things were different and he opened up slightly. Lex had exposed him to Kryptonite and he was very weak. Lex had injected him with liquid Kryptonite, so it took a while to work it out of his blood stream. I took him to the Batcave to try and help flush it out of his system, he figured out then if I wanted him dead I would have just left him there to die at the hands of Lex Luther."

Conner listened silently before asking. "Does he really hate me? Or is it like you said, he just doesn't trust me yet?"

Bruce folded his paper back up and laid it down beside his plate before answering. "I think it more has to do with trust than anything. I'm not sure how I would react if I was cloned and then faced with raising the clone in the end. I can't speak for him when it comes to that since I don't know how I would feel about it either."

"It's not like I asked for this to happen..." Conner told him softly.

"I know, but it will be alright," Bruce told him softly.

He studied Conner for several moments before Bruce asked him. "You're curious about my reasons for bringing you here."

Looking up he asked. "I thought only aliens could read minds?"

Dick laughed and said to his friend. "He's Batman! You can't hide anything from him!"

"There's that, and the fact that you mumbled the question. Superman isn't the only one with good hearing. You don't have to be from Krypton to have that ability." Bruce told him good-naturedly.

Taking a drink of his coffee he told the boy. "Conner, I brought you here to show Clark that he can trust you, if he sees that I trust someone then nine times out of ten he will trust that person too. I have fought with him for months and I was running out of ideas. There really is a mission, and we are leaving in a week for Rome. But I want Clark to see that he has nothing to worry about. In the past we have not only become best friends, we are close to being brothers. Granted he's older than me, but only by a year, I think. I know we are very close in age. Or at least I think we are, he doesn't even know his age really, traveling from Krypton to Earth takes some time. And I am not sure how old he was when he arrived. I talked to his adopted parents a couple of times and they told me he looked about 2 or 3 years old when his ship crashed in their cornfield. We don't know how old he was when his planet was destroyed. He could have just been born for all we know.

Anyway, he has always had trouble with trust, anyone who has ever known him to have superpowers has tried to kill him. And learning he had a clone that was supposed to replace him... well that could hamper his judgment on trust somewhat. After eight months and you have not tried to hurt him, he has no reason to believe you will harm him at any point in time. He's being stubborn plain and simple. Or an arrogant jackass take your pick."

Both boys laughed at Bruce's last statement. Conner had to ask once he stopped laughing. "He's not coming with us is he?"

"I haven't decided yet, that was what I was talking to him about yesterday when I came to get you boys when he wouldn't allow you to leave. I told him if he chooses to tag along he pays his own way and the fact on a reporter's salary good luck with that. The fact I know how much he makes a month doesn't help his cause any. IF I choose to allow him to tag along I might not be that cruel and make him pay. But we will see, I can be a bit of an ass too if you tick me off enough times."

Alfred came in just then with breakfast, placing the plates in front of them. Conner looked down at his and asked. "What is this?"

Bruce gave Dick a questioning look but didn't ask as he replied to Conner. "They're waffles if you like something sweet then this is it."

Conner took a bite and his eyes immediately lit up. "Wow, those are good."

Dick smiled proudly and told him. "Told ya."

Breakfast was silent as the three ate, afterward, they went down to the Batcave for training. Bruce turned to the boys once they got to the bottom of the stairs. "Dick, go change. Conner follow me."

Dick ran to the changing room as Conner looked up at Bruce. "Where are we going?"

Grinning Bruce told him. "I have something to show you."

Leading the young man to the costume room Bruce hit a button on a panel and the hiss of a door revealed a version of the Superman costume.

"I had this made for you, it's like Supermans but with you in mind," Bruce explained softly.

Conner noticed first that the pants and shirt were connected like a jumpsuit and would allow him to move freely. The sleeves on the shirt were long and he noticed the straps on the back.

"What is this here?" Conner asked curiously.

Bruce told him. "That will enable you to glide through the air. Go put it on and I will show you how to use it."

Conner nodded and did as he was told. Once dressed he came back out in his new uniform. He wasn't uncomfortable at all, and it didn't feel much different than what he had been wearing before. Bruce looked the costume up and down and told the boy.

"Looks good on you. How does it feel?"

Conner looked down and told him. "Great. Fits real good."

Robin looked up at his father and asked. "So when do we go back to the mountain and get Wolf?"

Looking down at his protegee Batman asked him. "Who's Wolf?"

"My pet sir..." Conner replied back, eyes downcast.

Batman could sense the hurt in the boy's words. This animal meant the world to him, or he was his world as the case may very well be. Making up his mind quickly he replied back.

"Boys, we are going to be gone for almost 2 weeks, we can't take him with us, so, I will make you a deal. You two behave yourselves for the entire trip and the first thing we do when we get back will be to go to the mountain as a group and get him."

Conner's head snapped up and a wide smile was plastered on his face, Dick was equally excited. "Thank you! You won't regret this!"

Batman lets a small grin come to his serious face before saying. "Alright, see that I don't we will figure out living arrangements for him after training."

* * *

Conner, you need to aim lower! Dick concentrate on your opponent." Bruce stood on the edge of the mat while the boys were sparring. Conner kept trying to swing at Dick who kept doing leg sweeps to knock Conner on his butt, it was clear that the younger boy wasn't paying enough attention to what he was doing.

Conner could feel himself becoming frustrated at the younger boy, he threw his fist out just as kick came within range. Dick was glad he was wearing his armor because the next thing he knew he was flying into the far wall of the training room. Hitting the wall hard enough to knock the wind out of him he fell to the floor. Looking over where Conner stood he could see the guilt building up in his eyes.

Bruce raced to his son's side and asked. "Are you OK Dick?"

Unable to speak Dick nodded his head, after a second or two he managed to say. "Yea, I'm fine. Taken harder hits than that before."

Conner snapped out of his shock and walked slowly towards Dick. "I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean too..."

Bruce put his hand up and told the older teen. "It's alright Conner, he just got the wind knocked out of him. I saw what happened it was an accident."

Conner stepped back and told Bruce. "I am just going to cause everyone trouble. I shouldn't be here."

Standing up Bruce walked up to the teen and told him firmly. "Where is that hard headed, stubborn young man that I knew from the mountain? What has gotten into you? You're never negative, or at least not this bad. Dick will be fine, he just got the wind knocked out of him."

Dick's chest burned, he knew that his kevlar was protecting his chest but he knew he would have a wicked bruise in a couple of hours. He also knew a hit from Conner would be equivalent to a bullet hitting him so he wanted to spar safely. Right, about now he wished he had Kryptonite to weaken him. Once he got his wind back he looked up at his father and Conner. He could see the concern in Conner's face and could only imagine what the boy must the thinking.

Standing up on shaky legs Dick told him. "Conner, I'm fine. Come on, I'm ready for round two!"

Bruce turned then and told his son. "No, we are taking a break for a bit. We need to find a way to have the two of you train without any permanent damage happening."

The boys followed Bruce upstairs, no one said a word. Bruce was deep in thought about a solution to training Conner without injury to his opponent. He knew Kryptonite would kill him, no he needed to weaken him not hurt him. Once in the hall of the manor, he turned to the boys. "Go play a game or something for a while boys, I need to do some research."

Dick looked up at his father and asked. "Can I show him the grounds? Getting out in the sun for a while will help."

Bruce thought about it, he looked out the window and saw the bright yellow sun beaming in; it suddenly occurred to him.

"That's fine, but no sparring. Oh and Dick, make sure you bundle up the temperature has dropped somewhat," Bruce told them. He turned and went down the hall to his study.

The boys took off for the front door, Bruce watched them turn the corner to the stairs. He knew they would be alright, but he needed to contact Superman. Boy Scout could drive him nuts sometimes but right now he needed his advice, hopefully, he would be willing to share information.

Digging out his cell phone he dialed his 'other' partner in crime up. "Hey, I need to talk to you. I have some questions would you mind coming over?"

Within seconds, he could hear the clock move down the hall and footsteps coming his way. The study door opened to reveal Clark Kent standing there.

Bruce chuckled slightly at the fast response, Clark had not answered him on the phone but rather flew right over in his human guise.

Clark didn't seem angry or worried as he stepped into the room and took the offered seat across from Bruce.

"What's up? You never call me unless you need something." Bruce looked outside his study window at the clear blue sky and then back to his friend.

"Next to Kryptonite what was your second weakness?"

Clark gave him a strange look but answered. "Red Sun, why?"

Not answering the why part of the answer Bruce replied. "What does Red Sun do exactly?"

Not entirely sure of where this was going Clark humored his friend. "Well, I guess I am more human than Kryptonian. I can't fly, use my super strength, heat vision or anything else. I'm virtually powerless. But it doesn't hurt me. Why are you so curious Bruce?"

Bruce looked back outside and saw Conner hoisting Dick up to a tree branch and gave a small smile at how happy the boys seemed. Conner was letting his guard down to somewhat.

"Conner and Dick were sparring just a little while ago, there was an accident... Dick's alright but Conner knocked the wind out of him when he sent him flying into a wall. I hate to think of what could have happened if Dick had not been wearing his kevlar to protect his chest. He's going to have a bruise tomorrow if he doesn't already. But next time he may not be so lucky. I need to know how to teach Conner to fight without hurting someone. He felt so bad he I think he wanted me to send him back to the mountain but I refused. He needs to be trained, and guided."

Clark's eyes grew wide at what Bruce told him. "I'm glad Dick's alright, but what can I do? I don't want to train him..."

"I'm not asking you to damn it!" Bruce stood up then and faced the window watching Dick do flips off the tree and onto the ground using Conner as a spotter.

"You don't want the responsibility to be a mentor that's fine, but, I will not stand by and watch a child that needs guidance be neglected of such an obvious need." Bruce turned and gave his old friend the famous 'Bat-glare'.

Clark got the point and told him. "If you're so sure about this, then I think I know someone who has the technology to create a form of Red Sun. I will bring it to the cave, and help you set it up. But I'm still not sure about this Bruce..."

Shaking his head he motioned for his friend to come over to the window. "Does that look like a weapon to you? Something to fear?"

Clark got up from his seat and stood at the window looking out at the lawn of Wayne Manor. He saw Dick teaching Conner how to do flips off of the tree, due to Conner's strength there was a dent forming on the side of the old oak from the teen kicking off of it to flip in the air. As the two men watched the boys laugh and play around the tree Clark was seeing Conner in a different light somehow.

"You really trust him?" Clark asked without looking away from the scene.

Bruce turned to look at his friend and replied with a serious tone in his voice. "If I didn't, then I would not have brought him here, revealing mine and Robin's identities. I would not have offered to train him or even take him with me to Rome in a weeks time."

Clark glanced over at his friend and considered his words. "You're going to need an alibi for that, are you keeping his name Kent or faking it?"

"I'm adding a hyphen and adding Wayne to it," Bruce answered turning back to the window.

"Conner Kent-Wayne? Has a ring to it. But you will need a passport to take him out of the country. You can't fake that Bruce."

Bruce turned and sat back down. "I know, that's why we are leaving in a week and not immediately. I have to come up with some kind of background for him."

Clark gave him a smile and stood there facing Bruce. "Then why not say that he's my cousin, that he was abandoned by his parents and you found him while on a business trip out east. I was present when you adopted him and made him your son. With that story in mind let me worry about the passport I don't want anything looking fishy for you. People already suspect that I am Superman, the last thing they need is a multi-millionaire being Batman."

Bruce looked up at his old friend and told him. "You would do that for him?"

Clark looked back at the window then to Bruce again. "Not for him Bruce, for you. My opinion still stands that the boy is a ticking time bomb ready to go off. I can't get past that, maybe some day but not right now. I will also see what I can do about finding some sort of Red Sun to help with his training. You can yell at me all you like but it's not going to change my mind. Besides... I wouldn't be able to raise him properly. You have more experience in raising children."

"I have adopted only 1 child Clark, I find that to be hardly enough experience. I'm still learning every day. But I do see your point, but I have been thinking about something... you don't have to answer now. But you are technically Conner's father... Would you be willing to allow me to adopt him if this all works out in the end?"

Clark was stunned by his friend's request. "So this trip you're taking him on... is this a test to see how he would work out in your world? A test to see how he and Dick would work out as... as brothers?"

"In another word yes, that is exactly what I am doing. I have been watching him for some time now, he and Dick get along very well. The missions they have been on, Dick gets along better with him than Kid Flash when on missions. At the mountain, however, he is closer to Wallace then he is to Conner. I hoped by isolating Conner, by bringing him here I could see for myself Dick's true feelings for the older teen. I've watched them from the Watch Tower and they speak to each other but Wallace will distract Dick and lead him away before the boy gets two words in. Of course, Conner acts out when this happens so clearly the boy wants a friend, he wants to belong. That yearning is there, so I am just trying to let it happen naturally by not really forcing it. It may appear that way, but I am trying to not force the issue."

Clark considered his friend, his long time friend. They had known each other for years, he knew Bruce well enough to know that when he sees a child in need he wants to help right away. With only the child's best interest at heart. He knew he couldn't care for Conner the way he needed too, not financially or any other way.

"If it's my blessing that you're wanting then yes. You can adopt him, that is if this works out."

Bruce gave him a slight smile and told him. "Thank you..."

"Excuse me, sir, lunch will be ready within moments," Alfred said from the doorway. Looking at his watch it occurred to Bruce how late it was getting.

Alfred noticed Clark and asked. "Would you like to join us, Master Kent?"

Clark looked over at Bruce then back to Alfred. "Sure, but I can't stay long I have some work I have to get done today."

Smiling Alfred replied. "Very well sir." and left the men alone in the study. Bruce stood up and opened the study window the cool afternoon breeze rushed passed him.

"Richard! Conner! About time for lunch come on back in and get ready!" Bruce told them.

Both boys looked up at them, he lowered his voice when he noticed Conner flinch. Bruce looked back at Clark and said. "Forgot about the super-hearing..."

Clark chuckled and told him. "You'll get used to it. You won't have to raise your voice around Dick anymore since you'll be having Conner around."

Bruce shut the window and the two men walked downstairs. They met the boys coming in the front door. Bruce told them. "Conner sorry for hurting your ears, I had forgotten you having super-hearing."

Conner gave him a half grin and replied. "It's OK. Dick told me you must have forgotten about it. I wish I could control it better, though. Last night I kept hearing water running in the pipes, and bats squeaking in the cave!"

Bruce looked over at Clark and told Conner. "I am sure that will come in time, now, you two go get washed up for lunch and meet back in the dining room."

Once they were gone Bruce asked. "How long _does_ it take to control super-hearing?"

The men walked into the dining room and talked as they waited on the boys. "Well lets put it this way, I slept with earplugs in my ears for quite a while when I was Dick's age. I still didn't have full control even when I started college. So it takes a lot of time to control it, tell you what I will get some earplugs for him too. That should help him sleep at night and still be able to hear at normal levels at night in case there was an emergency."

Both men laughed as they took their seats, Bruce sat at the head of the table while Clark sat to his left. Clark and Bruce talked quietly while they waited on the boys. Bruce knew pretty much everything there was to know about his friend... But there were just some things he didn't know.

* * *

Dick and Conner were taking their time in the first-floor bathroom while they washed their hands and faces. "Why is Clark here?"

Dick shrugged and replied. "Heck if I know, I was outside with you."

"Should I use my super-hearing on them?" Conner asked softly.

"I wouldn't, Bruce doesn't like people to eavesdrop, and you can't control what your ears hear so don't do it on purpose or it will tick him off."

They were silent for a few moments before Conner asked. "You don't think they are fighting over me again do you?"

Dick dried his hands off on a towel while Conner took his turn washing his hands. "No, they looked like they were getting along. They have times where they fight but not all the time. Don't worry everything will be alright."

Both boys headed out to the dining room for lunch, they stopped in the doorway and watched the two men joke about something and laugh.

Bruce motioned for them to come on in the room. "Come on boys."

Alfred brought their lunch just then and they sat and ate in silence.

* * *

 **A/N:** Reactions?


	4. Fun in the Sun Gotham Mission

After Lunch both boys went back outside, things didn't seem tense at the table but Dick wasn't taking any chances of Clark scaring Conner off. He was growing closer to Conner, in ways he felt like he was teaching him about life. They had fun earlier playing on and around that big oak in the back yard.

"Dick," Bruce called from the front door. Conner and Dick turned from the edge of the porch.

"Yeah, Bruce?" Dick asked with one foot on the sidewalk. "I want you both back inside before dark alright?"

Dick smiled and told him. "Sure Bruce!" They took off running to the side yard.

Clark came up behind him and said softly. "He's really growing up isn't he?"

Staring at the spot where Dick had been standing Bruce told his old friend. "You know what, this is the first time since I took Dick in that he has voluntarily gone outside to play. I know we need to go on patrol tonight... I promised Conner I would take him along with us... but they are having so much fun!"

Bruce turned and walked into the house, standing by the staircase he put one hand on the banister and told his friend. "You know, the Batman in me says 'make them go on patrol' but the father in me says 'let them have fun and be kids.'"

Clark smiled back and asked. "Did you go on patrol last night?"

Shaking his head he replied. "No, we skipped last night, I had a last minute meeting I couldn't get out of. I try not to skip two in a row."

Clark told him. "Tell you what, how would you feel if Flash and I patrolled tonight? Or better yet ask the boys if they even want to. Give them a choice. IF you're serious about turning them into brothers then focus on that instead of making them into worriers. Create a happy medium if you have to, I may not have ever been a father but that's just my advice to you."

Bruce nodded and leaned on his arm that remained on the banister. "That is good advice. At dinner, I will ask them. You staying or heading on out?"

Clark looked back at the door and told him. "I had better head out. Conner looked pretty stressed about me being here. I think he's scared of me."

"You know, if I were him I would be scared too. Not knowing what to expect when the very man that is supposed to be the father turns up and either ignores you or has something semi-negative to say. It's very rare you give that boy a compliment, and it shows." Bruce stated in a matter of fact tone.

Clark looked as though he wanted to say something back but he decided not to. "I had better get going." Leaving Bruce's comment hanging in the air.

Watching his friend leave he knew he had been right in his comment, he didn't care what Clark thought, he was just expressing what he had been witnessing and from what Dick had been telling him. He knew he was doing the right thing by taking Conner in, the boy needed structure in his life.

* * *

Hours later Bruce was sitting in the living room watching the news when he heard the boys come back in. Laughter filled the Manor as both boys were joking with each other as they walked into the room. Dick's face was red from the cold air outside, Conner looked normal but that was to be expected since he never got cold. Dick sat in an armchair by the fireplace to warm up, while Conner took up the end of the couch.

Bruce looked between them and asked. "What has gotten you two so worked up?"

Dick chuckled and replied hurriedly. "I showed him the grounds like you suggested, well we found a foxhole about half a mile from the house. It was pretty good size so we went in to explore it. Let's just say we got chased for over half hour by an angry mama fox! Then a little while later we climbed up a tree and got chased by some angry robins after accidentally knocking into their branch that had a nest on it. The nest didn't fall but it caused the birds to go nuts and start chasing us everwhere! After we lost the birds, we found this tree sitting in a clearing, we could tell it was very old by the hollowed out hole in the trunk. We once again went exploring and got chased yet again, this time by bats! Conner made a joke as we were running..."

Bruce had tried to keep up with the story but Dick was going fast, he noticed a small grin forming on Conner's face as the boy added. "Yea we got chased by Bats and Robins!"

Bruce chuckled and got the irony of the joke. "And a fox, boy you two had quite an adventure this afternoon. Would you two still like to go on patrol tonight or did you exhaust yourselves getting chased by our animal counterparts?"

Conner and Dick shared a look and Dick replied. "I think we are up for patrol."

Looking between the boys and then up at the clock on the wall Bruce told them. "We won't make it a long patrol but we can at least stay out till 1 or so."

Conner looked over at Dick and said. "And one is not that late?"

Chuckling Dick told him. "One is early compared to some nights we spend out till almost 4 in the morning."

Alfred came into the living room and told them. "Dinner is served."

They all got up and headed for the dining room. The entire meal was enveloped by laughter as Dick told Conner what growing up in the circus was like along with telling Bruce their adventures they had that afternoon and retelling the story about the fox, bats, and robins.

* * *

Conner and Dick got their uniforms on. Conner looked down at his dark jumpsuit and back to Dick. "This feels different, but I do like it."

Dick snapped his cape in place and looked over at his friend. "I like it better than the jeans. I think you can probably run faster in that." Conner chuckled slightly and told him. "Is that even possible? I can already run faster than a speeding bullet."

 _"Robin! Superboy! Come on boys! Let's move out!"_ They could hear Batman shout from the main room.

Still not sure what to think Superboy followed Robin out of the changing room out to the Batmobile. He felt weird in the tight pants, he was used to jeans. Batman looked at the boys, he noticed how awkward Conner looked in the tighter clothing.

Robin opened the door and pushed the seat forward for Conner who started to move to get in when a hand fell on his shoulder. "Are you ok with your uniform?"

Looking up at Batman he wondered how to answer him, he didn't want to disappoint the man that was helping him out and even gave him clothes to wear...

"Well, I uh... Do feel a little off wearing this. But um... maybe I will get used to it." Conner finally replied. Batman smiled in understanding and told him. "Go put on your jeans and get back here quickly. We won't leave without you."

Giving him a nod he took off and was back in a flash, this time wearing his Young Justice outfit of a long sleeved black shirt with the Superman Emblem on it and black jeans. Robin laughed and told him. "Jeeze Conner you made KF look slow!"

Grinning wide he told his young friend. "He's slower than me."

Batman shook his head and told the boys trying to hide the laugh that was threatening to escape. "Alright now, get in the car."

Smiling both boys got inside and they took off into the night.

Driving along the streets of Gotham at night always sent waves of excitement coursing through Dick's veins. He knew they were going to be parking soon and then the real fun would begin. Since Conner could leap tall buildings in a single bound Batman didn't give Superboy a grappling hook. The traffic tonight was light for a weekday as Batman parked in a side ally. The three got out and Batman turned to the boys.

"Robin, I want you and Superboy to run the rooftops going west I will head east. Keep in contact if there is something you two can't handle you radio me at once, got it."

Robin saluted him and said firmly. "Yes, sir. Come on SB lets roll."

Batman normally kept Robin close to his side, but with Superboy who had most of Superman's powers flowing through him, the masked vigilante didn't worry about his young partner as much, he wanted the boy to know he trusted him. He watched until the boys were out of sight, he turned and shot off his own grappling hook across the street to the highest building and was off into the night.

* * *

Superboy and Robin stood on a roof facing the peer that was near them. The full moon glistened on the water beyond and it had Superboy mesmerized for a moment. Robin shivered slightly as a cool breeze rushed passed him, looking over he saw some Christmas lights on one of the buildings nearby.

"Wow, that is cool," Superboy said offhandedly.

Robin grinned and told him. "Yeah, it is pretty neat. Well, there's nothing going down here and we've been here for nearly an hour, let's move on."

" _Robin, report."_ Batman's voice came over the link moments after they began to leave their post.

"Nothing's happening down here by the docks, we are going to head inland and check residential to see if there's anything going on," Robin replied back.

After a few moments, Batman told him. _"That's fine, keep a sharp eye out. I just heard over the police banner that Joker escaped again. Be on the look out for him."_

Robin looked over at Superboy then back to his com-link. "Yes sir, I will update Superboy on Joker so he knows what we are dealing with."

" _Roger that, keep in constant contact. If you find him call me back immediately. You two are NOT to engage him by yourselves. Am I clear?"_

Robin rolled his eyes and tried not to let Batman hear his sigh of frustration. "Yes sir, crystal clear. Robin over and out."

Superboy stood a foot away, he had been listening silently. "Are we going to go after him?"

Robin looked up at his friend. "If this was a Mount Justice mission I would say yes, but here in Gotham, I have to obey orders. I can hide at Mount Justice but not here, you don't want to tick Batman off by going against an order. You've seen him chew me out at Mount Justice... so you can just imagine what I would be in for if I disobeyed him here. So no, we are just going to look for him and call Batman back."

Superboy nodded and asked. "So who is this 'Joker'?"

Robin pulled up the file he had on Joker on his pop-up computer on his wrist. He showed Superboy everything there was to know about the comical mad man.

"Remember Superboy he thinks this is all some sick game. He will try anything to take you down." Robin told him firmly as the two scaled the rooftops in double time.

Robin skidded to a halt on a rooftop near Wayne Labs. "Did you hear that?"

Superboy concentrated hard and heard a mechanical laugh coming from a block away. "Yea someone is laughing."

Robin didn't have to wonder if it was mechanical or not, he told Superboy. "Alright, what direction did it come from?"

Pointing left Robin shot out a grappling hook and told Superboy. "Follow me."

Without question, Superboy followed Robin's lead to an old warehouse where they could hear the laughter even louder than before.

Raising his comlink to his mouth he said quickly. "Batman, I've located Joker. Warehouse district, he's four blocks northwest from Wayne Labs."

" _Roger that Robin, I am en-rout now. I will be there in five minutes."_ Was Batman's quick reply.

Robin dropped down from the building he and Superboy were on and peered through the window. He saw Joker inside pacing back and forth with a man tied to a chair with chains. Superboy asked quietly. "Do we run in there and grab him?"

Robin shook his head and told him. "Negative, we stand down until Batman gets here."

Looking frustrated at the scene Superboy wanted to go against orders and go in, but he listened to Robin's warning about not ticking off Batman and waited. They could hear the roar of the Batmobile in the distance and got ready.

Batman got out of the car and walked quickly towards his two partners "Robin, report, what are we dealing with?"

Turning back to the window Robin replied. "Hostage situation looks to be a man in his upper 40's, graying hair, husky, looks like a business man. Can't tell how tall he is since he's chained to a chair. Joker knocks him around once in a while but the man is still alive for the moment."

Nodding approval he turned his attention to Conner. "Superboy, I am giving you a grappling gun, we still need to work on your landings. If you were to use your abilities and jump the landing might bring down the roof. From the looks of the building, it won't be able to handle your landing."

Superboy looked at the object Batman placed in his hand. "How do I use this thing?"

Smiling at the boy Batman told him. "Like this." He aimed for the large antenna that was on top of the building. "See the trigger? Now put your finger on it and press it, not too hard or it will jam."

Superboy watched the cable and hook shot from Batman's grappling gun and he aimed as well, pulling the trigger he watched his own cable take off and latch onto the antenna. He felt his arm jerk slightly as the gun pulled him to the top of the building. Losing his balance for a second when he landed softly on the roof, Batman steadied him. "You did well for your first time."

Batman looked over the edge and used the com-link. "Robin, stay grounded, I want you to free the hostage and get him to safety."

Robin nodded and ran around the side of the building to the nearest open window. Batman waited till the boy was out of sight before turning back to Superboy. "Alright. We go through the skylight, take down Joker and get out."

"What about the police?" Superboy asked quietly as they walked over to the skylight.

Batman peered through the dirty glass and told the boy. "Robin will contact them before he goes in."

The com-link beeped. "Yes, Robin?"

"Batman, Joker pulled a gun, he's going to shoot the hostage. The police are en route to the warehouse but they may not get here in time. Do you want me to run a distraction and get the gun away from him?" Robin asked quietly.

"No, our position is almost directly above where Joker is standing. Just get the hostage out of the way before bullets go flying." Was Batman's response.

Looking over Batman asked. "You ready?"

Nodding slowly Superboy followed Batman's lead and crashed through the skylight. Batman landed on Joker's back as Conner landed just behind him. Four large men came out of the shadows and began opening fire at the two heroes that made their entrance.

Superboy heard a clicking sound and knew it was Robin picking the lock. But there was another sound that had him confused. A strange hissing sound... near the door Robin was trying to come through. He looked behind the hostage and saw a small fire going. He didn't have much time to think about it while dodging bullets most of which hit him. Thanks to his Kryptonian DNA it didn't scratch him. He untied the hostage and ordered him. "Get out of sight."

He raced to the door to see it was a fuse that was attached to a bomb. "Robin, stop. There's a bomb on the other side of this door. I will make an exit just get away from the wall to the left of you."

"Hey! That's no fair kid! Don't try and break my toys!" Joker exclaimed he was slightly confused as to why there was a new hero with Batman, but he viewed the kid as a threat since he was helping him. Superboy turned around and saw that Batman was fighting the four men, well three now. Joker had gotten away and was now behind Superboy.

Frowning hard Superboy stepped over and raised his fist, punching the wall hard with his super-strength he made a hole large enough for Robin to come through.

Looking down at his friend he asked. "I thought you were coming in through the window?"

"They are armed with explosives. The only thing that wasn't rigged was the skylight, I thought the door was safe until you stopped me." Robin explained.

"Oh goody, you kiddies found my toys." Joker clapped happily. Superboy turned back to the mad man as Robin came up behind him. "Superboy, help Batman, I can handle the clown."

Nodding Superboy raced to his new mentor's side and helped take down the four gunmen. Robin faced the Joker.

"Well Boy Blunder, you dare to face me on your own now, do you? Are we really that grown up?" Joker pulled out a knife from his pocket and flipped the blade out, he was taunting him and Robin knew it.

"I can take you any day of the week Joker," Robin replied back as the laughing clown made the first move and rushed at him with a knife in hand. The fight went on for several moments with Robin ducking and avoiding getting stabbed with the knife that Joker had in his hand.

He felt pain in his arm when the blade made contact with skin, blood leaked out from the small wound. Robin kicked Joker's legs out from under him and kicked the knife out of his hand. He had to get the Psyco worn down. Other wise he would wind up with more injuries than just a small stab wound.

Robin had the advantage at some point and kicked Joker's legs out from under him he hit his head on the way down and was knocked unconscious on the concrete floor. Looking over he saw his father and friend finishing off the thugs and getting them tied up. Once finished Batman patted Superboy on the back and told him. "You did very well, Robin! The bomb! It's got 1 minute left!"

During the fight, Robin had completely forgotten about the bomb until now. He turned back to the device on the door and disconnected the wires and turned the bomb off with only seconds to spare. "Sorry Batman... Joker distracted me."

Batman brushed it off and told him. "I know, I saw that. But you didn't take that long to take him down and you were doing just fine on your own..." Batman walked over to the door beside Robin and flipped the lock so the Police could get in.

Sirens could be heard in the distance. "It's about time... why can't they ever show up on time?"

Batman shook his head and told his young partner. "We may never know. This has been going on for far too long I'm afraid."

They walked out the door and down the street to the Batmobile. Once the top was closed Batman looked back at Superboy. "You did great for your first time out with us."

Giving a half smile Superboy replied. "Thanks, Batman, I was worried I would make a mistake."

Robin told his friend. "Don't worry, he will let you make at least a couple of mistakes the first few times you go out and as long as they are not life threatening you will get away with them."

Batman looked over at Robin in the front seat and told him. "You know that's not entirely true."

"Hey, it wasn't my fault that we didn't know about that bomb in the warehouse with the Riddler." Robin shot back.

"Your idea of disarming the bomb was throwing a Bird-rang at it." Was the flat reply.

Robin shrugged as the car pulled out onto the road. "Well I was new to the game, and the idea was a good one at the time."

"Six months was how long you had been Robin," Batman replied back.

Sticking his tough out at Batman he replied back. "Yea, yea and you never made a mistake?"

Surprisingly that shut Batman up for the rest of the ride back to the Batcave. Once there Batman got out and pointed at the boys. "Superboy go change clothes, Robin come with me."

"What did I do now?" Robin asked worriedly. Superboy looked down at his friend but did what he was told and went to the changing room.

Robin followed his mentor to the med bay part of the cave. Batman stood over him and replied. "Nothing except hide an injury from me. Tunic off along with your undershirt, then have a seat on the table."

Now that the adrenaline from the fight was gone his arm began to hurt from the stab wound. He had known about it but forgot it while fighting. He had always been taught to ignore injuries until the fight was over. He took his tunic off and noticed that the sleeve of his shirt was covered with a mix of fresh and dried blood. He pulled his tee shirt off and laid them both down on the other end of the table. He tried to see his upper arm that had a long jagged cut along it with blood seeping out.

Batman had gone to get some medical supplies and had just returned when Robin sat up on the table. He saw the wound and told him. "Why didn't you tell me you had an injury?"

"Cause I forgot about it while fighting. It didn't hurt until now." Was the reply.

Batman cleaned the wound with Peroxide to clean the wound. Afterward, he wrapped it in gauze and told his partner. "It's not deep thankfully so it doesn't need stitches, I will change the dressing in the morning then again when you go to bed. It shouldn't take long for it to heal. It doesn't appear to be that bad."

Robin nodded and told him. "You're too over protective sometimes you know that?"

Shrugging Batman told him. "Would you rather me not show concern and let you bleed out?"

"Well no..." Robin replied back quietly. "You know, I could just ignore your injuries and let you suffer," Batman told him softly.

Frowning Robin told him. "You wouldn't be able to do that even if you tried."

"True, that's very true. I could never, NOT respond to an injury, well on you anyway." Batman told him.

Conner walked into the med bay and saw the wrapping on Robin's arm. "Are you alright Robin."

Robin slid off the table and told him. "Yea I'm fine, Joker got to close to me with that knife he was swinging around. It's not a big deal, how about you? Any injuries?"

Giving a half grin Conner told him. "I can't get injuries remember. I have Superman's super healing abilities."

"Go change Robin." Looking up he saw the serious look in Batman's eyes. Yawning slightly Robin headed to the changing room.

Batman told Conner. "Head on upstairs Dick and I will be up shortly."

"Is he in trouble?" Conner asked concerned.

Shaking his head Batman told him. "No, it's like he said, I worry too much about him."

Conner could shake the feeling he had. "Then why did you seem mad when we got back?"

"Robin knows the difference between Batman worrying over him and Bruce. I seem mad but it's just my persona that I am portraying. It takes me some time to get out of the mode of being a hard-ass and back to being Bruce Wayne. You see Conner if villains know that Robin is my son they will use that to their advantage and try and hurt him or even kill him to get to me. They already suspect it so they try and hurt him anyway. But, if they think that we are just partners in crime fighting then they tend to target me and leave him alone. Joker is the only one besides Catwoman that knows any differently. Although Joker knows that if he tries too hard to hurt Robin I will put him in traction for 6 months. All villains know that I seek, not vengeance, and have a strict no-kill policy. But that doesn't stop me from putting them in the hospital for a week or two or more if they mess with Robin. Some learn faster than others. Joker knew I was watching him tonight when Robin fought alone, that was why he merely cut Robin and didn't outright stab him. He knew I would have left my fight to attack him if he had gone further. That was a walk in the park fight compared to normal, having you there was a distraction. He didn't know we had a third person helping us so his guard was down."

Conner looked down, he wished he had a father to look after him and worry like that, he was lucky if Superman would give him the time of day let alone worry about him.

Robin came back into the room. "Hey Conner, wanna watch the news before bed? Alfred made a fresh batch of cookies."

Conner looked up at Batman then back at Dick. "Be right there."

Batman put a hand on Conner's shoulder. "It will be alright, in a couple of days is when we head to Rome."

"Have the police tried to find out who is embezzling money?" Conner asked softly.

"They have it narrowed down, that's why they need me in Rome. I have an account over there that they found strange activity in. So I have to go investigate it, the FBI told me it wasn't a large enough amount of money for them to get involved." Batman told him.

Yawning slightly Conner told him goodnight and headed upstairs for the living room where Dick was already sitting on the couch watching the news. Shaking his head he sat down next to his friend. "You watch the news more than anyone."

Shrugging Dick told him. "I'm not much of a movie buff, and I am too busy for sitcoms so the news is morebrief and just as informative. If a movie comes on that interests me I will watch it with Bruce but that's about it. He doesn't watch much TV either, other than the news. We watch old movies sometimes when I am sick or have gotten injured in battle. Some times we do when we have one of our rare days off."

They were silent as they listened to what was going on in Gotham, they didn't even realize they were very tired until Bruce came into the room a little after 4:30.

Bruce walked in after checking the boy's rooms for them, he was surprised that they were sleeping on either end of the couch with the TV still on. Instead of waking them he got a couple of blankets and put them on each boy and let them sleep.

Soon he was going to tell Conner about his plans, but first, he wanted to see how well these two would get along... so far so good.

Bruce ran a hand through Dick's raven hair and said softly. "Goodnight my son."

Once upon a time if you had told Bruce that he would be a father to an energetic 13-year-old boy who was an orphaned acrobat in the future he would not have believed it. He knew the boy got lonely and he hoped that one day he could give the boy a sibling. He was hoping that he could make that dream a reality soon.

* * *

 **A/N:** Reactions? I love the response I am getting from this story! If any of you are interested I have a group on Facebook called **Batman writers Unite.** Come join in on the fun. I post my weekly updates there for people to follow on Facebook as well.


	5. Eavesdropper Preparing for Rome

Clark rang the doorbell just after 9 in the morning two days later, he chuckled when he heard "I'll get it!" being shouted from somewhere upstairs. The door opened and Dick stood there and smiled wide seeing his 'Uncle Clark' at the door.

"Hey Clark, what's with the unannounced visit? You always call first." Dick asked.

Clark slipped past the boy and ruffled his hair. "Oh but I did, two days ago. I told Bruce I would be by. Know where he is?"

Dick pointed up the stairs and told him. "In the upstairs study."

Clark walked up the stairs without another word. Dick ran back into the game room where he had left Conner while he answered the door. Alfred was out doing the grocery shopping for the morning.

"Who was that?" Conner asked from the big blue beanbag chair he was sitting on. "It was Clark. He came to see Bruce about something. Wanna go listen in?" Dick asked with a mischievous look in his eye.

Smirking Conner said. "You know I can hear them from here right?"

"That may be but I can't," Dick replied. Shaking his head Conner followed his young friend out of the room and to the study door silently. They stood outside the door and listened to the conversation inside.

" _I got the papers you asked me to draw up for you. Everything should be there, the passport information should be enough to get him into another country without any questions arising. I also took the liberty to come up with a cover story as to why the boy has my last name." Clark was saying._

Both boys looked at each other questioningly before listening to more.

" _I hope this will all go well, we will be gone for a couple of weeks. I trust Gotham will be alright without Batman and Robin in that amount of time." Bruce replied back._

" _Black Canary, Flash and I are going to be keeping an eye on things in your absence."_

There was a pause then they heard chairs being pulled out and the two adults sitting down.

" _What about the Young Justice team? You still have Artemis, Aqualand, and Miss Martian. They can help too."_

" _I would rather keep them out of Gotham, they wouldn't be prepared enough to face the likes of Joker, Riddler or any of them."_

" _Conner already took down Joker while on patrol with me and Robin. He did a fantastic job."_

" _That's only because you were there to guide him..."_

" _And you will be there to guide the rest of the team. I will lock up the house and make sure no one goes upstairs. You can use the Batcave and the files from Arkham to get the team ready to face them. We leave in just two days, so there will be no one here to bother them."_

The boys heard a sigh and a chair scooting back. _"Well, I had better go, Lois will be wondering what kept me so long. I told her I had to run an errand before coming to work."_

Conner frowned and looked over at Dick. "Who's Lois?" The older boy asked in a hushed whisper.

The room became silent before suddenly the door was yanked open and the boys half fell into the room one on top of the other.

"I knew I heard someone talking out here," Clark said firmly.

Conner looked down ashamed he knew Clark could have heard him... They both shared super-hearing after all. Dick looked up at his father who was now standing beside Clark looking down at them with a stern expression on his face.

"Richard John Grayson-Wayne." Bruce started to say. "So not good..." Dick whispered to Conner who didn't budge from where he was standing. Dick knew it was a very bad move to eavesdrop on conversations. Standing to full height both boys looked down in shame of being discovered.

"Richard, you know better than to stand outside the door and eavesdrop. We have been over this time and again about it. Now the fact you dragged Conner into it is beyond unacceptable. He can hear a heartbeat from across the room. So he no doubt just followed your lead..." Bruce started to say.

"Bruce... please don't just punish him... I didn't stop him even though I told him I could hear everything that was already being said. I was blocking it but he wanted to listen in..." Conner explained softly.

Superman gave him a stern look. "Did you try and stop him?"

Bowing his head low Conner shook it slowly.

"What's the big secret anyway? So you got Conner a passport, so what. I don't see where I really did anything wrong." Dick shot back at his father angrily.

Bruce rolled his eyes and thanked god that for now he only had one rebellious teenager. "That's beside the point Richard, and you know it. You're guilty of eavesdropping, and that alone is what you will be punished for. I will take into consideration what Conner said, but the fact remains that you did the crime primarily."

Frowning hard Dick wasn't quite sure where his frustration was coming from. "Oh really? My crime? What crime! All I did was eavesdrop!"

"Dick, you need to watch your tone," Clark told him gently.

Both men seemed to forget that Conner was there in the room, but he stood still and listened silently.

"Bruce, you always get on to me when I do the littlest thing. To me, this is mild to the stunts I have pulled in the past! You know full well I should have been punished months ago when I disobeyed your direct order to stay put, but yet, the three of us went to Cadmus on our own. You didn't even get on to me for that! If I had done that mission solely you would have probably punished the daylights out of me." Dick told him hotly. Bruce looked down at his son's fiery eyes. The words that Alfred had been drilled into his head came back to haunt him " _pick your battles with him, some are more important than others."_ Bruce saw the emotions in Dick's eyes, he knew the boy was angry at him.

"Dick, listen... your right I am being a hypocrite about this. I should have dealt with things differently back then, but, your right... I can't punish you for something so minor as eavesdropping when you did take off for Cadmus without permission. I think out of everything you have done this year THAT was the most dangerous."

Conner elbowed Dick playfully and told him. "Yea and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree when it comes to butt kicking."

Bruce and Clark looked between each other and Conner before Clark chuckled and told him. "We seem to have that effect on the Bats of the Justice Leagues don't we?"

Conner looked up at Clark in surprise. This was the first time he had known the older man to agree with him or even acknowledge what he said.

"Very funny Clark, very funny," Bruce told him with a slight chuckle of his own. Dick looked up at his father's soften expression and asked.

"So am I still in trouble?" Bruce looked down at him again. "Do you want to be?"

Seeing Dick shake his head in reply Bruce told him softly. "Ok then, I will let you off with a warning this time. But next time you better not get caught."

Dick looked over at Conner then back at Bruce. "OK, sorry for eavesdropping."

Bruce ruffled Dick's hair and told him lightly. "It's OK kiddo. Well, come on in and we can talk about what we are going to be doing in the next day or so."

The two teens walked further into the room and sat down in the chairs in front of Bruce's desk, while he sat behind it. Clark cleared his throat and said. "I really do have to go, I will see you all later."

A round of see ya laters went around the room as Clark left. Conner watched him go, the man actually paid some attention to him this time. Shaking his head he turned back to Bruce who held up a little blue book that said 'Passport' on the front.

"Dick knows what this is when we go to Rome you will have to have this on you at all times. We are going to be taking the Wayne Jet, but in order to clear airport security you will need this in order to pass." Bruce handed the blue book to Conner who looked it over.

"But... I'm not really 16, I just look it." Conner stated after reading it over.

Bruce nodded in understanding and told the teen. "I am aware of that, but it would be hard to explain how you look 16 but are really 7 to 8 months old. Clark managed to make this at The Daily Planet without his boss finding out. I could have done it but he has more knowledge than I do about making id's like this, with information pertaining to someone who is part alien. Granted every person on the planet knows Superman is alien, the citizens don't know that Clark is Superman. He had to come up with a fake background in order to live life like he has. His parents had to come up with false information about his birth in order to adopt him when he was a baby. That's why I asked him for help, he knew how to do it and not get caught in the process."

Conner nodded, he understood what Bruce meant to an extent. Dick looked over at the Passport and read aloud. "Conner Kent-Wayne? How did he pull that one off? You didn't adopt him."

"According to this paper, I did." Bruce leaned forward and handed Dick the false adoption papers that Clark had brought over. "Clark even had a backstory to go along with it, if you turn the page you will see it. We had to do something in order to pull this off and make it so you two were siblings."

Conner looked over at the papers, then back to Bruce. "So... what happens when we get back? Do I just go back to the mountain? And we all go back to our normal lives?"

Giving both boys a reassuring smile Bruce told him softly. "You are more than welcome to stay here Conner if that is what you would prefer. Or you can go back to the mountain. I will leave that choice up to you."

Conner was silent for another moment before asking. "Where are we going to be staying while we are in Rome?"

Dick jumped up and sat on his knees in excitement. "At Bruce's penthouse apartment! It's so cool! It's got 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, an enormous living room, a huge terrace with a pool! There is also a gym, a study and a kitchen the size of the one here! The dining room is about the size of one of Wayne Manor's bedrooms!"

Conner's eyes grew wide at this new information. "Is there a Batcave there too?"

Bruce chuckled and answered. "No, but I thought about it."

"So do you own the building? Or just the apartment?" Conner asked curiously.

"I own the entire building. I rent out my penthouse when I am not using it. It's been a while since I have been there and I have not seen what any of the tenants have done to it. I allow them to redecorate if they wish. I am just happy that the penthouse was available when I called. Otherwise, we would have had to settle on a two bedroom. Oh, and you boys will have to share a room, I have ordered a new second bed for the room. The sheets on Dick's bed have been replaced."

"How big are the bedrooms?" Conner wanted to know.

Dick smiled and replied excitedly. "The ones that Alfred and I use are about as big as our rooms here. Bruce's room is twice that size and his bathroom has a jacuzzi in it! Out on the terrace, there is a hot tub too."

Bruce looked over at his surrogate son and told him. "Now Dick, remember, it's been years and there have been many tenants going in and out of there. We have no idea what the place even looks like anymore as far as decorating."

Shrugging Dick sat on his bottom and said lazily. "As long as it's nothing girly I'm good with anything."

"The super told me that a couple and their pre-teen daughter lived there recently. In fact, they just moved out a few weeks ago." Bruce told him honestly.

"As long as it's not purple, yellow or pink... I'm good."

Conner looked over at his friend and told him. "Don't jinx yourself. Isn't that what you tell KF?"

Shrugging Dick replied. "Yeah, but, this is different. Hey, Bruce..." Pointing a finger at Dick, Bruce told him firmly. "NO, absolutely not. Two of you is enough."

"Do you have mind reading powers?" Conner wanted to know as Dick gave Bruce a dirty look.

Bruce shook his head and told the boy. "No, but I know Dick well enough that he was thinking of bringing Kid Flash along. We would be out of food within the first hour of being there."

Nodding in understanding Bruce sat back in his chair. "Now, Conner, you have next to no clothes am I right?"

"Yes, sir... but I will be fine." Bruce put a hand up stopping him from going further. "No, listen, I have ordered a bunch of clothes for you to wear. I know what size you are so I am confident that they fit. I have also bought you some suite cases to put your clothes in. Everything was delivered yesterday evening when we were all training in the cave. Your things are packed and ready to go, we leave first thing in the morning. Dick, you on the other hand still need to go pack. We are doing an early patrol tonight, and it will only last an hour or two. I have informed Superman that if we are out past the two-hour mark that he needs to intervene since we have to leave first thing. Guess it's a good thing that things are quiet in Metropolis for him to be pulling double duty like this. But he has the rest of the League to help him out too."

Nodding in understanding the boys got up and headed for Dick's room. Dick pulled out a large duffle bag and started pulling clothes out of drawers and off of shelves, he put them all in his bag while Conner sat on the trunk by the foot of the bed watching.

"So how many times have you been to this place?"

Looking over his shoulder from the closet Dick replied. "To Rome? Or to the apartment?"

"Both," Conner replied.

Dick sighed and pulled out two more shirts and began folding them, putting them neatly in the bag he replied. "I have been to Rome several times, many of those times was with the circus. But when I came here I have only gone a few times. I have been all over Italy, it's beautiful there. Bruce's apartment, I think we have gone maybe 4 or 5 times since I came to live here."

"What's it like over there? Is it cold? What time zone are they in?" Conner started shooting off questions.

Dick laughed as he walked back over to his bed and put the shirts in his bag. "Slow down Conner, you're getting faster than KF with it comes to questions. It's not that much different than from over here, they have rain, snow, storms things like that. They have different seasons and holidays. And Europe has different time zones like we have here in the states."

Conner watched his friend as he got his backpack and started putting his electronics in it. Dick looked up at his friend and asked. "Hey, would you mind getting my soap out of the shower caddy please, I forgot to pack it."

Hopping off the bed Conner got the item and yelled back. "Do you need a towel too? Or wash rags?"

"No, Alfred packed that stuff already, but thanks for thinking of it." Was Dick's reply.

Coming out of the bathroom the bedroom door opened and Bruce was standing there. "Are you boys all packed?"

Dick nodded and told his surrogate father. "Yep! Hey, do we need our costumes?"

Bruce gave him a thoughtful look and replied. "I packed them just in case."

Frowning Conner asked. "I thought we were going out on patrol tonight?"

Giving the teen a grin Bruce told him. "We were, but I changed my mind about that. We need to get a good nights sleep. So I called Clark back and told him we are not going out. He's going to take over patrol while we are gone, so he is going out tonight to look over the city. Heck, I have done the same for him when he is out of town."

"Not every night you don't..." Dick said as he darted into the bathroom for something else.

Bruce shook his head and chuckled. "Ok, maybe I don't go out every night and patrol both cities… but I make the attempt to look after both by watching the Metropolis news reports. Knowing Clark, he will actually come to Gotham every night. The thing is he can move faster than I can if there's trouble, so that's the biggest reason why I don't go to Metropolis when he's away. If there's trouble how am I expected to be there in the blink of an eye?"

Looking down Conner spoke softly. "Bet he doesn't leave town too often..."

"No he doesn't but since he's been part of the Justice League he's been monitoring Metropolis from space. It's easier that way for him I guess. I tried that once, to watch over Gotham. Did NOT go over well at all. Clark doesn't have the responsibilities I have… I have way more than him. I have the city, of course, my businesses, Dick, Alfred, now you. I can't be gone like that anymore. I tried once and that was it." Bruce told him.

Dick came back into the room and told Conner. "The one time he's talking about was when I was 10, I got bored and left the Manor as Robin. Got kidnapped by Joker and tortured."

"Was that the 45-minute thing you two were talking about?" Conner asked curiously.

Bruce shook his head. "No, that was before, when Dick was 9, the time Dick is talking about was when Joker damn near killed him instead of just torture. I saw it from the Watch Tower but the Zeta-Tubes were down. If it wasn't for Superman being in Metropolis at the time… Dick wouldn't be here."

The three were silent for several moments before Dick asked. "So what time do we leave in the morning?"

Bruce looked over at his ward and told him. "We leave for the airport at 5:30. It will take us a while to get there when we land I have to go to the office at the Rome Wayne Enterprise building. So no rest for the weary. Alfred will take you boys to the apartment and get you settled in. I'm sorry Dick but you won't be seeing much of me for a few days."

"Like I'm not used to that by now." Came Dick's fast response.

Bruce rolled his eyes at him and told the boys. "I should be back by late afternoon early evening. I can take you two on a tour if you want? Or we can just hang out for the day. The next day I don't have to be there until about 10 so we have the morning together."

Dick smiled at that and told him. "Cool! Can we watch movies then? Conner and I will be rested. But you won't be, it's not fair to have to lug us around the city when you're exhausted."

"If that's what you want Dick, yea we can watch movies. Go to the game room and pick out, however, many movies you two want to take along." Bruce told them.

Conner looked over at his friend. "I thought you said you don't watch many movies?"

"We don't, but when we travel we watch tons of them! I love it! Can't watch the news really over in a foreign country. They speak so fast you can't understand them. Besides its a nice break from here." Dick told him excitedly.

Bruce chuckled as Dick raced out of the room to the second floor. Conner followed behind but didn't run. As he passed Bruce the older man asked. "Giving him a head start?"

"Yes, I am… His mouth is faster than his legs." In saying Conner took off like a shot up the stairs and passed Dick in the blink of an eye.

Bruce laughed as he watched the streak that had become Conner go up the staircase. He could tell that Conner was coming out of his shell he had been in, he had heard the boy laugh, make jokes, and play around. He has also seen how he is in the field. If all goes well he may just have another partner.

* * *

Dick watched as a streak raced passed him. "Are you kidding me! CONNER!"

Dick doubled his efforts to run up the steps and keep up. But this was Superman's clone we were talking about. He got to the top and tried to catch his breath, he took off after a few seconds and raced down to the game room where he found Conner standing in the doorway.

With a fake yawn, Conner said. "What took you so long?"

Dick gave him a dirty look as he passed him and went to the closet for the 'movie bag' as he called it. It was a bright red backpack that was originally intended to be a hiking bag. Bruce dug it out of the attic and told Dick he could have it for movies when they went away for extended periods of time.

"Are you planning on taking all of the movies?" Conner asked from the doorway.

Looking up at his friend he told him. "Nope, I plan on taking my Playstation though. Bruce has a connector that will work for it at his apartment's safe. He keeps stuff in this big Safe that looks like a closet. If one of the visiting tenants try and break into it Bruce is alerted here in Gotham."

"Huh, that's pretty cool," Conner told him.

He watched his friend gather several different movies from the various shelves that held many different titles. He tried to count the many cases that went into the bag. "Rob you know we are only going to be gone for a week or so right? You planning on spending the entire time watching movies?"

Dick looked over and put a few movies back and took down some game cases and put his PlayStation 4 in the bag as well as the controllers. Conner laughed as he watched the younger boy struggle to zip it up. Bending down he grabbed a couple more movies and watched as Dick was able to close it up.

"Filling it all the way isn't going to work you know? Try lifting it." Conner told him.

Dick tried and told him. "Yea I think I filled it too full."

Unzipping it he began taking out movies as Conner put them back up. After several moments of going through the titles, they decided on taking 6 movies and 7 games. The bag weighed a lot less in the end.

Bruce came up after almost an hour had gone by to check on the boys. He watched them put up some DVDs and he asked. "Overfilled it again?"

"Yeah I did go overboard. But got it all worked out." Dick told him.

Bruce motioned for Conner to follow him as he told Dick. "The luggage is by the front door. Add your bag to it so Alfred can get it all loaded up tonight."

Bruce took Conner back to his room and showed him his new suit case. "Alfred packed this, so I don't know what's in it. I figured you would like to take a look and make sure it's what you will actually wear while we are gone."

Conner flipped the tabs on either side of the large, plastic suitcase and opened the lid. He saw various colors of tops as well as dark blue, khaki, and black pants. Pulling out one of the colorful shirts he looked over at Bruce.

"Do I really have to wear this?" The shirt in question was a soft blue cotton shirt with a collared undershirt that had blue and white checkers on it. There were three more just like it only they were green, red and brown. The other shirts that were in the suitcase were black and navy button down cotton shirts. There were some undershirts to go with them.

Bruce told him softly. "No, Dick wears clothes like that for formal events. As far as I know we do not have any of those planned for the near future. So you can just hang them up in the closet. Keep the brown one just in case there is an event. But the rest can go to the closet."

Looking up at Bruce he wondered if Clark would have been this nice if he had paid him any attention. He took the shirts out and hung them back up, closing the lid of the suitcase he picked it up and carried it down to the front hall and put it with the rest of the luggage.

* * *

Since they were free for the rest of the day, and the weather outside was not as cold as it had been, Dick took Conner about half a mile from the house into the clearing beyond the woods and tried to teach him to control his strength.

Dick picked up a rock and told Conner. "Here, try and hit that Batarang there on the tree."

Conner wasn't sure about this, he knew he could do some damage. Throwing the rock semi lightly he hit the target but the force of the rock on the metal of the Batarang had unexpected results as it ricocheted off and back at the boys. Conner shoved Dick to the ground as the rock came flying back at them. Dick got up and dusted himself off.

"Alrighty then… that did not work out the way I had thought it would..." He walked over to the Batarang and used the sharp edge to carve a bullseye into the wood.

"Let's try that again, just barely throw it this time." Dick stepped back beside Conner and watched his friend throw the rock. This time, it went through the tree trunk. Dick went looking for the rock and said. "Well that one's gone, I don't see it anywhere."

Conner and Dick practiced for over two hours, Dick was wondering when they were going to run out of rocks. Picking up a particularly big rock about the size of a teacup he said. "OK, this time, throw it as light as you can."

Conner watched the target and drew his arm back, just as he let go of the rock a fast hammering sound was heard that shocked him. Instead of throwing the rock lightly he threw it hard…

* * *

Bruce was sitting in his study going over some paperwork when something crashed through the window and onto his desk. He looked down and saw a rock sitting there. Getting up he stormed over to the window and opened it.

"Dick? Dick Grayson!" He shouted he was surprised the even Conner didn't respond.

He took in a deep breath and shouted. "Richard John Grayson!"

* * *

From half a mile away Conner stood in shock at how big a hole had been made in the tree trunk, he tilted his head to one side when a noise hit his ears. "Uh… by any chance is your middle name John?"

Dick's eyes grew wide and he said. "Oh, crap… so not good… come on we gotta get back to the house on the double."

They both took off running, Conner had practiced running slower so Dick could keep up. After that last rock throw, he didn't want to be back at Wayne Manor first.

* * *

Bruce waited a few more minutes then pulled out his cell phone and text 'where are you?' to Dick. Moments later a response came back 'on our way back, we were half a mile away… sorry in advance for whatever that rock broke.'

Bruce looked back at the rock that still sat on the desk. 'did Conner throw that?'

There was a very long pause and Dick replied. 'maybe… depends on how much trouble we are in.'

'when you get here come to the study and I will show you how much trouble you're in young man.'

There was no response, this time, Bruce looked up and saw Dick and Conner running through the treeline of the yard both panting and out of breath. Dick had his head bent and was leaning on his knees with his phone still in his hands. Conner was several feet ahead of him, Dick looked up and saw how behind he was and ran to catch up.

He saw Dick look up at him with a genuine apologetic look on his face as they disappeared from view. Bruce pulled the curtains shut and turned from the window just as the boys stumbled into the room.

Seeing how red faced Dick was Bruce was willing to bet that the boy ran the entire half mile without stopping, and it was not as cold as it should be outside for November. Without saying a word he walked over to the mini fridge and got a bottle of water and handed it to his son.

"Sit down, both of you," Bruce told them. Conner looked nervous but complied as he sat next to Dick on the couch in the middle of the room.

Bruce wasn't surprised that Conner wasn't red in the face or out of breath but he waited a moment for Dick to catch his breath before saying.

"Probably a dumb question but, who through the rock?" Bruce asked as he got his desk chair and sat before the boys.

Dick took another long drink from the cold bottle before answering. "Conner did, but it's not what you think Bruce. We didn't mean to aim for the house, it was an accident." Dick told him in Conner's defense.

"Well I don't see him or you doing it on purpose. But why were you two throwing rocks in the first place?"

Conner spoke firmly and with confidence in his voice. "Dick was showing me how to control my strength… I didn't mean to throw it so hard. There was a hammering noise that startled me… I guess the rock got away from me."

Conner lowered his head and Bruce told the boys. "I'm not mad at either of you really, more startled. What hammering noise?"

Dick put the now empty bottle down on the couch beside him and answered. "It was a woodpecker in the tree above us. I didn't see it before but it must have landed while we were practicing. Had I known it was there I wouldn't have had him even hold a rock of that size."

They were all silent for a moment. "That window's coming out of my allowance isn't it."

Bruce followed his gaze to the half smashed window and told him. "Yes, it is. Now since you two made this mess, you are cleaning it up. Alfred may be the one that would normally clean it up, but he went to town on an errand. Dick, I want you to get a trash bag and the broom with a dustpan, and Conner I want you to make sure that the window gets patched uptight before we leave."

"How do we do that?" Conner asked softly.

Bruce thought for a moment. "Down in the cave there is a large piece of wood, I want you two to bring it up to the study and work together to board up that window. There's not really any time to get the window fixed before nightfall."

Just then the phone rang. Picking up Bruce heard Clark's name. "I could hear you all the way from Metropolis. What in the world is going on over there."

Considering Metropolis was several miles away Bruce was surprised that Boy Scout didn't fly over. "The boys broke a window while Dick was teaching Conner to control his strength from over half a mile away. I would say they need to make it one mile instead of half. If they had been any closer the rock could have gone through the wall instead of my study window. It must have ricocheted off a tree and shot up here or something. I doubt Conner was aiming high."

He saw Conner from the corner of his eye, the boy was shaking his head no and then said. "I was aiming straight ahead."

"Conner said he wasn't aiming high at all so it apparently hit a tree on its way and got higher."

There was silence for a moment. "Are you alright? I know my own strength and if that came at you fast..."

"I'm fine, it hit the window and then the desk before me, there's a slight dent in the desk but I can fix that. The window, on the other hand, is coming out of Dick's allowance."

"That I don't blame you on, do you have anything that will patch up the whole? How bad is it?"

"Almost the entire window is smashed," Bruce told him. Clark was silent and then told him. "I know someone that can get it fixed in no time while you're gone."

"The boys were just about to run down to the cave and get the board to patch up the hole," Bruce told him as he looked over at the boys. Dick nudged Conner and they both got up and made a mad dash for the Batcave.

"It won't hold Bruce, there calling for thunderstorms tonight, your study will have water coming in by the buckets. I will be over shortly, have Conner and Dick meet me in the lawn below the broken window."

Bruce was getting a little irritated. "Now Clark, I want Dick to take responsibility for his actions."

"Technically it was Conner's fault, not Dick. But like you said he didn't mean to. You want Dick to pay for it I get that, Conner has no money. Tell you what, we will compromise I will pay for the repairs and Dick can either come to Metropolis when you guys get back and work with me at the Daily Planet to pay off his debt. Or just pay me out right."

Bruce thought about it. It would be good for Dick to have a little work experience. "Daily Planet would be fine, just make sure you don't spoil him over there. He has to learn to pay for his mistakes."

Moments later the boys were back with the board and some nails, along with a hammer. Dick told his guardian. "I'm really sorry Bruce… I didn't mean for this to happen right before we are set to leave."

Conner put the board down and looked between the two. He began to feel defensive and waited for a moment to see what would happen.

Bruce put his hands on Dick's shoulders and told his son. "I know, but, since Clark has the martial and the know how, he has offered to fix it. But with a price. You have to go and work at the Daily Planet with him in order to pay him back."

Dick's eyes grew wide. "A newspaper office? I don't want to go there! I would rather go to Wayne Labs and work!"

"Clark doesn't make anywhere in the ballpark as much as I do Dick, his rent is more than his paycheck at times. And that window is pretty large, it's going to cost him a pretty penny to replace it. What will help him out is if you find him a really good news story while we are in Rome and give it to him when we get back. You will be going every day for a week to the Daily Planet, to help out. You will be Clark's secretary in other words." Bruce told him firmly.

Frowning Conner asked. "Then how come I can't go too? I am the one that through the rock. Don't let me go unpunished since I am the one that committed the crime."

Before Bruce could answer there was a knock on the window pane. Turning Bruce let out a groan. "I'm so glad I don't have neighbors," Bruce grumbled as he walked over to the window.

"Hey guys, I have everything we will need. It won't take long to repair it." Clark said as he floated two stories off the ground. Clark picked up the large shard of glass that was left of the window and let it drop to the ground below. Bruce told Clark. "You're going to clean that up right?"

"Heavy duty glass my friend, it didn't break when it hit the ground," Clark told him.

Clark came back up with another window but it looked different somehow.

Bruce frowned and asked. "Clark? What kind of Glass is that?"

Conner and Dick came up beside Bruce and stared at the glass. "Bruce, I had some glass left over from the time the windshield of the Batmobile got shot out some years back. I had it stashed away in the storage room of my apartment."

Bruce's eyes got wide. "So that's bullet proof glass?"

"Yes, is there a problem?"

Shaking his head Bruce told him. "Nope, continue."

He walked out of the study while Clark and the boys got to work on repairs to the window.

* * *

Bruce was sitting in the living room reading the newspaper when Alfred came home. "Sir, how come Master Kent is working on your study window?"

Bruce twisted in his seat and told him. "Conner broke it with a rock from half a mile away. It was an accident but the boys are helping with repairs. Both boys if not just one will be spending some quality time at the Daily Planet in Metropolis for a week after we get back. But something tells me they only owe Clark for the window frame and not the actual window its self."

"Are you sure it is wise sir to keep such a powerful young man under this roof?" Alfred asked softly knowing how sensitive the ears were in the household.

Bruce told him firmly and didn't lower his voice. "I am not reconsidering. Accidents happen, Alfred, it's a part of life. Just like the time Dick broke the vase in the front hall just weeks after he arrived. Were you going to blame him for having a nightmare and bumping into it half awake in a strange, dark house? No, it wasn't his fault and he couldn't help it. I am taking Conner in with superpowers or not. Clark is trying to come up with a solution to help him live a more normal life here. We are just going to have to be patient until then."

Alfred knew that tone of voice, it was one that he knew not to argue with. "Very well sir."

He left to go prepare dinner. Bruce got up and walked up the stairs to his study, he got to the door and found Dick standing outside the closed door.

"What's going on Dick? I thought you were helping with the window?" Bruce asked once he got close enough.

"I am, Clark told me to stay out here, Conner had a surprise for you and want's you to stay put right out here," Dick replied back.

"Huh… ok..." Bruce walked down to the end of the hall and opened the window, the cool November air hit his face as he peeked out and saw Clark still working on the window, but something was off about it.

"Clark." Bruce got his attention and nearly caused him to drop what he was doing.

"Oh hey Bruce, we are almost finished," Clark told him happily.

Frowning Bruce asked. "Where's Conner?"

"On the other side of the glass. I guess you could say _I_ am teaching him how to use his super-strength. He broke a few corners off the window helping Dick put it up. So we are improvising on what is left of the window. You could say we got creative with the remaining broken chunk from the ground."

He heard the rumbling of thunder and looked up at the darkening sky. "You gonna be done in time before the storm hits? They are calling for it to be pretty nasty."

Clark looked up at the sky then back at Bruce. "It will be fine. We will be done in just a moment or two Conner is finishing up the sealant on his end. I am just supervising at this point. Oh, he just gave me the sign that he's done. Come on in."

Bruce pulled the window shut and locked it tight. Turning he walked back over to where Dick was still standing guard.

Crossing his arms Dick said seriously. "What's the password?"

Not a bit amused Bruce told him firmly. "Either move or be moved."

When the teen didn't move Bruce picked him up and set him aside. Going into his study he saw the window and stopped. Conner gave him a half smile and said. "It was my idea. It was cool is what Dick said."

Bordering the window frame Bruce saw the big hunks of glass from the old window in various shapes as well as colors. "But Stain Glass takes hours to complete..."

Clark had moved indoors by this point and said. "Not when you have heat-vision it doesn't."

The border had Red, yellow, dark and light blue, green along with orange shapes varying from stars to moons to even suns.

"Wow, you guys did a great job..." Bruce said as he walked up to the large window.

Clark told him. "Conner doesn't have heat vision, so I used mine and he blew on the other side to keep the glass from melting completely. That's why I needed him and not Dick in here."

Clark looked down, it had been the first time since Conner had come into his life that he actually asked the boy to help him. He was surprised the boy agreed.

Conner stood beside Dick near the couch as they watched the adults. Bruce looked over at the older teen and said. "You did a fantastic job. Thank you."

Conner looked down, he wasn't sure how to take a compliment. Dick lightly elbowed him and whispered softly. "Say your welcome."

Looking back up he told Bruce. "Your welcome, I was glad I could help… and I am sorry I broke it in the first place."

Bruce walked over and put his hands on the boy's shoulders and said firmly. "Conner Kent, now listen, it was an accident. You didn't mean to, you are part human, and humans make mistakes all the time. Even I make mistakes even if I don't want to admit it."

Dick and Clark both chuckled at that and tried to hold in a laugh. Bruce ignored them and concentrated on Conner.

"I appreciate the work you did here. You and Clark made a good team creating a window." Turning to Clark he asked. "But where did you get the window stain?"

Clark blushed a little and said. "Well… Ma had some left over from when she helped the neighbors out in making a stain glass window. So I flew to Kansas and got it and came back. Conner wanted to come, but he can't run as fast as I can fly yet."

"Well, you two did a good job just the same. I am glad Martha had the materials to help out as well. If she needs them replaced let me know."

"Thanks, Bruce. I better get back to Metropolis, I have to meet up with Flash and Green Arrow about patrol tonight. Since the two know nothing about the criminals of Gotham."

* * *

Hours later Dick and Conner were heading to their respective rooms. "Hey Dick, what will we see from the sky? Same thing we do from the ship?"

"Pretty much. It all depends on how high the pilot takes us up. It is so cool." Was the response.

After saying goodnight they went to bed.

Bruce woke up just after 4:00 and went to wake the boys. He was grateful they missed patrol, he would never have been able to drag himself out of bed. Walking down the hall he went to Conner's room and knocked when he got a muffled reply he opened the door.

"Hey, it's time to get up," Bruce told him from the doorway. He waited till he saw the teen begin to roll out of bed before heading down to Dick's room. He was going to be the hardest one to get up.

Knocking again he said. "Dick, come on up and at em!"

Dick groaned loudly in protest as Bruce walked into the room and shook the boy lightly. "Dick Grayson, come on, you knew you would be getting up early."

"Doesn't mean I gotta be happy about it..." Came the muffled reply from where Dick had put his face in the pillow. Bruce turned on the bedside lamp and told him. "Son don't make me get the cold water again."

Dick sat up and said. "I'm up! Jeez Bruce, you don't have to threaten me!" Dick ran to the bathroom to get ready.

Bruce chuckled as he went back to his own room to change. A half-hour later they were all piled into the Wayne Limo and on the way to the airport. Conner pulled his passport out of his pocket and read it over again in the dim light that was Dick's cellphone. The younger teen was sitting next to him playing Sudoku on his phone. Bruce was on his tablet going over something on the screen.

Noticing Conner squinting Bruce told him. "You may not have heat-vision, but keep squinting like that and we might find out that you do have it."

Reaching over he pushed on a small clear object above Conner, it lit up his side of the back seat. Conner looked around and asked. "Can people outside the car see the light?"

"No, just us. Alfred can't see it either. Since the screen is up." Bruce told him.

Dick's hand went limp and the phone clattered to the floorboard as the boy fell asleep sitting up, Bruce wondered why he hadn't answered when Conner asked a question. Bruce picked up the phone since it landed near him and put it in his shirt pocket. He leaned Dick so he was resting his head on Bruce's chest. Instinctively Dick curled his legs under him and he got into a comfortable position. Thankful for the enormous back seat Conner scooted over a little to make room.

Once they were at the airport Bruce still couldn't get Dick to wake up. He reached over and unbuckled his seatbelt and scooped the boy up in his arms. Conner knew if the other Young Justice members could see Dick right now they would probably make fun of him. But Conner knew he was just tired. He had just gone to sleep not long before Bruce came in to wake them up.

Conner had been asleep until Dick had woken him that morning, he got the younger boy to go back to bed but then he could hear Bruce coming out of his room.

Conner followed along behind Bruce once the elder man gained his attention. Conner was surprised the cool air didn't wake Dick up. Once on board the jet, they took off. Bruce held Dick the entire time, not once did the boy stir. Once in the air Bruce got up and headed to the back.

"Where are you taking him?" Conner asked softly.

"There is a bedroom back here for anyone who wants to sleep. I am going to lay him down so I can lean back in my seat and sleep too. I have a feeling it's going to be a long day."

Alfred was already half asleep in his seat near them. Conner looked out the window at the sun coming over the horizon and fall over the frozen ground covered with frost, he couldn't help but let his mind wander off while they flew.

Some time later Bruce woke up and saw Conner sleeping facing the small window of the Jet. He picked up the blanket that was in the compartment below the seat in front of him and draped it over Conner. He knew the boy didn't get cold or hot but he still made the gesture just the same. Once they landed he woke him up and then got Dick who was still out like a light.

Bruce saw how peaceful the boy was but he couldn't carry him this time. "Dick, come on son wake up."

Dick moaned in his sleep. "Dick, we are in Rome. Come on wake up."

Dick sat up slowly and asked groggily. "Last thing I remember we were still in the Limo..."

"You slept the entire time and entire flight. Now come on, let's go, buddy."

Dick climbed off the bed and followed Bruce off the plane and down to the ground where the media were waiting. Dick groaned and walked quickly behind his guardian and got in the waiting town car. Conner was already inside and buckled up. Dick wave to Bruce who was in a separate car and sat back as they headed to the apartment.

Once there Dick was more alert. Riding in the elevator he got more excited to see the apartment and the view. Alfred opened the door and the boys entered. So much had changed about the place.

There was Zebra stripe curtains hanging from the floor length windows, black rugs under the black leather furniture. The kitchen was painted in bright yellow with Green trim. Dick asked Alfred. "Where were the last tenets from? The amazon?"

He went up the stairs and down the hall to his and Conner's shared room, the sight before him left his mouth hanging wide open.

Conner stopped short behind him and said. "Well, they did say there was a teenage girl here..."

The walls had purple with white stripes and the carpet was pink shag. The curtains were sun yellow with what looked like little orange suns running up and down them. The room was a nightmare…

The desk had hippy stickers all over it and the computer that sat there was bright green.

The only normal thing about the room were the two made beds that were in each corner of the room. The small TV sat dark and silent on the other side of the room across from the desk. The room may have been as big as his room back home… but at least his room wasn't a nightmare.

Conner watched the younger boy walk around in shock. "Dick… maybe it won't be so bad… I mean no one is going to know what it looks like but us right?"

"Are you kidding me! This place is a living nightmare! Who lived here? Hippies? Bruce has got to change rooms with us! That's all there is to it!"

Bolted out of his room and down the hall. He looked into Alfred's room and saw nothing outlandish about it. Bruce's room had white walls with yellow flowers on them. The curtains were black. He wondered what the people were thinking that lived here.

"Alfred!" Dick shouted running down the steps, with Conner close behind him.

Alfred came out of the kitchen and told the boy. "No need to shout sir, what seems to be the trouble?"

Dick looked panicked. "Our room Alfred, oh my gosh you should see it!"

Not looking amused Alfred asked him. "And what, might I ask is wrong with it?"

"It's decorated for a girl!" Dick exclaimed.

"Master Dick, need I remind you that a young lady and her mother lived here just before we arrived? So, of course, the room is decorated to suit her needs. We are only here for a week or two so you will just have to deal with it. Are you planning on entertaining friends in your bedroom?" Alfred asked seriously.

Conner tried not to smirk at Alfred's comment.

"Well no..." Dick started to say. "Well then Sir, I say do not fuss over it. The kitchen is horrid but you do not see me acting uncivilized about it now do you?"

"Well no, but..."

"Then this discussion is over. Since you choose to stay up so late and have Master Bruce carry you around like a child, I suggest you go lie down until dinner is prepared."

Dick started to turn to go back upstairs and asked. "Can I sleep in Bruce's room?"

"No, you 'may not' Sleep in Master Wayne's room. Now off you go."

Conner watched his friend storm back up the stairs. "So how long was that flight? What time is it now?"

Alfred looked at the clock on the Kitchen wall and replied. "It's nearly 1 in the afternoon, it took us roughly 6 to 7 hours to fly here."

"I am surprised that he is tired, given he slept the entire time..." Conner commented.

"It's called Jet-lag sir, happens to the best of us. I could clearly see it in his expression, he needs his rest. I had the manager bring some items to get us through tomorrow morning. Are you hungry?"

"Not really, I think I will go lay down too." Conner went upstairs. He could hear Dick grumbling about the room from the bed near the wall. Shaking his head he laid down and fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

 **A/N:** Can we say my imagination ran wild? Next chapter won't be nearly this long… if I'm lucky that is…. Please let me know your reactions to this. Oh, and I had a comment about Dick's language speaking skills, traveling with the circus Dick picked up on multiple languages. So he is multi-lingual.


	6. Possible Suspect

Bruce dragged himself through the apartment door around 7:30, much later than he thought he would be. He saw Alfred sitting on the couch watching the weather report.

"My word sir, you are late. I trust things went accordingly at the office?" Alfred asked as he got up from his seat.

"You could say that. This intern I hired about 5 months back seems sketchy, I have Lucius checking him out." Bruce told him as he loosened his tie and collapsed in a big black leather arm chair.

Laying his head back all he could hear was the TV's low volume. "Where are the boys?"

He asked looking around. Alfred sat near him on the edge of the sofa. "Taking a nap sir, or in this case, they must just be staying in bed. I tried to wake them but they were out cold."

"Jet-lag I'm sure. It's been a while for Dick, but Conner? I think it's definitely something new for him. Was there any problems getting them settled in?" Bruce looked at his butler and noticed the weary look on his face.

"Oh boy… how bad was it?" Bruce asked, afraid he already knew the reaction.

"Master Conner did just fine getting settled in, Master Dick on the other hand. He got over-excited when he saw that the previous tenant left the room as was and didn't make it into a boy's room so to say. The room has purple and white stripes on the walls to start with, the pink shag carpet is horrendous and the curtains are a nightmare."

Bruce chuckled and told Alfred. "I tried to warn him, a teenage girl was in that room."

"I could clearly see he was still tired so I sent him to bed, Master Conner told me he wanted to go lay down too. They are both still out." Alfred explained gently.

"So breakfast tomorrow should be fun. Dick will be complaining about his room, I could have things changed back to the way they were or at the very least take out some of the girliest items. But just for giving you a hard time it will all stay put."

They talked a little longer and Bruce accepted a Sandwich and chips for dinner from Alfred then went on to bed.

* * *

The following morning came too soon in Bruce's opinion. "Bruce! Hey, Bruce!"

He opened his eyes groggily and saw the grayness of the room, telling him that it was still very early.

"Dick, do you have a death wish? Or do you actually need something?" Bruce asked grumpily from where he laid on his stomach with his face buried in the pillow.

Dick ran to the side of the bed and told him. "Bruce, come on wake up! Alfred says it is almost time for breakfast!"

"What time is it?" Came the muffled reply.

Dick looked up at the clock above his father's head and said. "Almost 8."

Sitting up Bruce looked out the window near him, it was very cloudy. No wonder it looked like early morning. Rubbing his eyes he looked over at Dick. "So your room is horrible is it?"

"The worst," Dick responded. The all too energetic teen raced to Bruce's closet and got his robe and handed it to his father.

"Thanks, I will be down in a minute OK." He told his son.

"OK." taking off out of the room Bruce shook his head and grumbled again. "Too early in the morning for so much energy..."

Putting his robe on he went to his bathroom and got ready for the day. Once dressed he went by Dick's room on the way downstairs. Seeing the room Bruce said. "I can see why he didn't like it, I can't torture him by making him keep all of that."

* * *

Going down to the kitchen Bruce got a cup of coffee and sat at the table. He already missed Gotham, the newspaper that was laid out was written in Italian. He was glad he knew how to read Italian but it was too early for translating it to English in his overly tired brain. He saw Conner sitting on the couch watching something that was being spoken in Italian.

"So Dick, I decided that the carpet and curtains can be removed from your room. We won't be here long enough for a complete makeover so you will have to just deal with it as is for the time being ok."

Sitting back in his chair Dick let out a huff. "Sure I guess. Conner hates it, though."

"Actually I didn't have a problem with it, you did," Conner replied without turning around.

"Damn super-hearing..." Dick mumbled. "I heard that!" Conner said back.

Dick shook his head and saw the stern look Bruce was giving him. "Sorry."

Alfred put two plates on the table, Bruce asked his old friend. "What about Conner?"

Conner spoke up softly. "I've been up for a while, I fixed myself a sandwich earlier."

Bruce nodded and turned back to Dick. "So what are your plans for the day?"

"Thought I would walk Conner around the city and show him some of the sites," Dick replied between bites of egg and sausage.

"Remember Dick, stay out of trouble," Bruce told him.

"Eh, I'll try." Shrugging and going back to his breakfast.

Bruce shook his head and looked over at Alfred who was cleaning up the kitchen. He wondered why the man hasn't complained about the colors of it yet. But then again Dick complained enough for everyone about his room.

Conner got up off the couch and came to the table. "What is the Colosseum?"

Dick looked over at the TV and saw a picture pop up of the Colosseum. "It's an attraction here in Rome, I've been there a few times. Pop Haley took me once, my parents another time and then Bruce took me. I never get tired of going, it's amazing."

"What other attractions is there?" Conner wanted to know.

"The Sistine Chapel. Is another great attraction, uh, ancient Rome has some tours. We could find some great stuff to do." Dick told him.

"You know you're not traveling around Rome without an adult right Dick?" Bruce told him firmly.

Dick looked between everyone and said. "I know that I didn't expect us to go out on our own. I was just telling him the fun things there is to do."

Alfred told the boys. "I will arrange for us to take a couple of tours while we are here. You can see the sites and stay out of trouble."

"I can stay out of trouble, I'm a pro at it," Dick exclaimed.

"Broken window."

"Setting the kitchen on fire."

"Smashing the computer screen in the Batcave."

Alfred and Bruce began listing all the things he had done wrong.

"I get your point! Besides, I am not at 100% fault for the window bit. Only… 90%…."

"Why 90?" Bruce asked amused.

"Because it was my idea, I didn't think about what direction we were standing in, I didn't consider that just a gentle throw could smash a window," Dick told him.

Alfred told Bruce firmly. "I guess we should be lucky he's taking any of the blame sir, after all, most children and teens these days do not take an account for their actions. Instead, they blame others, so we should be considered lucky."

"You have valid point, Alfred, I guess Dick is more responsible than we give him credit for," Bruce told him, he knew it amused Dick to talk about him right in front of him. None of it was bad, and Dick knew it.

"Most of the kids at Gotham Academy are too stuck up to care about anyone else. It's like they take advantage of their own lifestyle so nothing is their fault." Dick commented dryly.

Conner tilted his head and asked. "What does that mean?"

Bruce knew Dick's opinion of the students and let him answer.

"They are a bunch of stuck up rich snobs that don't know their butts from a hole in the ground, they walk around with their nose in the air and think all other students are below them. Every day I hear at least a dozen students gloat about how much their family is worth when they ask my opinion I just don't answer or say who cares. Even though I think we are the wealthiest in town or close to it. I don't brag about it. There's no point, I lived in a one bedroom trailer for 8 years of my life moving around at least a few times every month. I know what living the hard life is like, and those rich snobs don't seem to understand that there are people out there who are actually struggling to make ends meet while they can sit around and let the money just poor in." Dick explained at length.

He looked over at Bruce who was listening with an amused look on his face and said. "Sorry Bruce… I didn't mean..."

"It's ok Dick, I know what you meant. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on the matter, but you are right those kids don't care about anyone but themselves. I was like that at one point in my life, I was about 7 or 8. It was right before my parents died, I didn't care about the little man, all that mattered was that I was in a large expensive house, and my parents were rich."

Conner glanced over and asked. "What changed your way of thinking?"

Giving him a thoughtful look he stated. "I was at a theme park, it was just a week before my parents were murdered. I saw these kids they couldn't have been much older than myself at the time. They wore tattered clothes and were dirty from head to toe, there was about 5 of them all ranging in age the three older ones were close to my age, and a little girl was with them couldn't have been any older than 4 or 5. Anyway I remember asking my dad if we could go on the Farris Wheel again, he didn't mind. Now the toll to get on was $5, which was and still is a lot. This little girl wanted to ride, my dad asked where their parents were. The eldest was 12 I think and told my dad that their parents had been gone for some time. When these officers came out of know where and wanted to take them away all of them started crying and pleading for my father to help them. We later learned that these children were going to be sent to separate foster homes. My father then developed the Gotham City Orphanage, a place for children of all ages. The children got taken there and found new homes. That was when I realized that I was no better than those kids. My dad died just after signing the documents for owning the building, Lucius was working with my dad back then and made sure it all went through."

Bruce got a far away look on his face. Dick knew that face well and said softly. "You could have ended up like them. In the Orphanage or Foster care."

"Yes, it changed me, and the way I thought about life back then. I have met hundreds of orphans over the years. I almost took in a child I met as Batman, long before Dick came into the picture. What stopped me was he had a family lined up that I didn't know about. The kid had run away from the Orphanage because of one of the workers, I had seriously thought about taking him in when I did my research and found out he was about to be adopted by a loving family." Bruce told him softly.

Conner frowned and asked. "How long was Dick part of the system before you took him in?"

"One week." Was Dick's reply. Bruce nodded in agreement. "There was a madman out to get him, Conner, I knew that Dick wasn't going to be safe with social workers and foster care parents. I pulled some strings and expressed my opinion about him coming to live with me."

Dick smirked and looked over at Conner. "I gave you the short version."

"It was very short because you only told me how you became Robin," Conner exclaimed.

Shrugging Dick turned back to Bruce. "You're going to be late."

Bruce looked down at his watch and told them. "Yeah I better get going, see you boys later. I will try and find time this evening to take you guys out somewhere ok?"

Dick glanced over at Conner than back at Bruce. "Yeah sure."

Giving Dick a look Bruce got up and grabbed his jacket, it was just a little cool that morning. He looked back at Dick when he got to the door. The boy had his head and shoulders slumped at the table. He then looked over at Alfred and saw the slight nod.

"Dick, on second thought," Bruce said as he walked back to the table and stood over his young ward.

"How about you and Conner come with me. You two might find it interesting, if not then I can call Alfred to come get you."

Dick's head popped up and he looked up at his father. "Really? We can go with you?"

Bruce nodded then added. "But you can't go in your pajamas."

Conner and Dick looked at each other's attire and got up quickly and raced for the stairs. Conner was back in a matter of seconds dressed in the brown button down shirt and black pants. Dick came moments later wearing a crimson sweater with khakis.

Bruce noticed that Dick was wearing his good dress shoes but Conner, had only a pair of black boots. Making a mental note for on the drive to work he would get the boy fitted for a pair of dress shoes.

"Alright, are you both ready?" Bruce asked gently.

Dick smiled wide and replied. "Yes, sir we are ready."

Nodding his approval Bruce lead the boys out of the apartment and down to the car. In Rome Bruce owned two cars, as to Gotham he owned more than that. They got into the car, Conner in back, Dick in front. Bruce drove them to the office.

"Did we make you late for your meeting?" Conner asked quietly from the back seat.

Looking back in the rearview mirror Bruce told him. "I am late, but I own the company, so what are they going to do? Fire me? And no, it's not either of your faults."

* * *

They drove to the Rome Wayne Enterprise building downtown. The building stood near the center and was 6 stories high with an underground parking garage. The meeting room they were going to be in was on the 5th floor.

Bruce parked the car and turned towards Conner. "Are you ready to meet some new people?"

He saw the nervous look on the teen's face and told him softly. "Dick knows most of these people you are about to meet and he knows where my office is here. If you feel too overwhelmed just let one of us know and Dick will take you to my office."

"I still say that it's whelmed, not overwhelmed," Dick replied getting out of the car. Bruce rolled his eyes and lead the boys inside.

Stopping at the elevator doors Bruce turned to the boys. "Ok, here's where you two need to act as close to brothers as possible. I know you two have been practicing for the past several days but it's show time right now."

"Can we fake an argument?" Dick asked.

"I Don't care Dick."

"Can we… have a fight in the hallway?" Bruce could clearly see the boy was trying to amuse himself.

"Dick Grayson get in the elevator." Playfully shoving his son in he turned to Conner. "Coming?"

"This thing won't fall will it?" Conner asked cautiously.

Shaking his head and holding the doors open he told the teen. "No, it's perfectly safe."

Conner looked around the metal frame hesitantly and walked in. The last elevator he had been on had been about a month ago on a mission. And it dropped about twenty feet before they managed to get out and then it exploded. Dick could have made a joke about the older boys hesitation but he knew where it came from so he kept silent.

Once near the top floor, Bruce ushered the boys ahead of him. He saw Lucius ahead along with some of his other Gotham colleges, some of his Rome workers as well. He shook their hands as Lucius asked. "And who is this young man?"

Bruce smiled as he placed a hand on Conner's shoulder. "This is Conner Kent-Wayne, I recently adopted him."

Conner looked up at Bruce before taking the outstretched hand before him. "I-It's nice to meet you, sir," Conner told the man hesitantly.

"Good firm handshake, so kid, where are you from?" Lucius asked.

Conner looked up at Bruce again before answering. "Smallville Kansas… I lived there most of my life…"

Lucius knew the location as well as the last name. "Kent, huh, any relation to Clark Kent?"

Bruce was proud of Conner for remembering the backstory. He let the two continue talking.

"Y-yes, he's my cousin. I didn't know about him until some months ago when I met him at some charity event that Bruce was hosting in Kansas. I uh… I was there, wasn't supposed to be but I was. I talked to Dick who was hanging around outside later on and the two of us became friends."

Looking at his long time college Lucius commented to Bruce. "Months huh, boy Bruce you don't waste time with adoptions do you? I remember when you adopted Richard here, only knew the kid a week or so."

Lucius was aware of the event that Conner was talking about, but he didn't know any of the townspeople attended.

"So who did you live with while you were living in Kansas?" Lucius asked.

Bruce cut in then, he knew that Conner couldn't answer that question. "Let's get this meeting over with, shall we. Conner's never been to Rome so I want to have time to show him the sights."

He saw his recently hired employee walk in and the man greeted him silently before walking quickly away. Narrowing his eyes Bruce began to wonder about this man.

Leaning down to Dick he whispered. "You want an inside mission. Go up to my office and run a thorough background check on Dean Manly. He's a new employee that started earlier this year. About a week after he started money started coming up missing. Your mission is to find out what is going on and to find out where the missing money is. Conner stays with me so that if Dean says something under his breath it can be heard."

Dick saluted his surrogate father and said. "Yes, sir! I will get right on it!"

Racing back towards the elevator Dick raced up to the top floor to Bruce's private office. Conner watched him go and looked up at Bruce. "Won't they ask where he went?"

"I don't owe them an explanation, there is a conference room that Dick hangs out in here to watch TV if they ask of his whereabouts then I will tell them that is where he is," Bruce told him gently.

Nodding Conner followed Bruce to the meeting, Lucius got up from his seat and moved to an empty seat several chairs away from where Bruce was going to be sitting at the head of the table. Conner took the empty seat next to Bruce, sitting in silence until someone asked him something. Conner paid attention to the members of the board, taking notice of the man sitting two chairs down and across from Lucius. He could see the man typing away on his phone. The man he recalled stood around 5'10", wide shoulders, short dark hair, medium waistline.

Conner remembered hearing Bruce and Clark talking about how his powers might develop over time, so he prayed what he was about to try wouldn't fry the table. Squinting his eyes slightly he tried to use his barely existent X-Ray vision. He could see the shadow of his hands typing away underneath the table. Resting his eyes for a moment he tried again, still only seeing shadows, he glanced over at Bruce and saw he was standing up to the wall with a pointer going over a graph from the last year. Looking back at the man Conner tried again. He gave up after nearly 20 minutes of trying to find Bruce leaning over his shoulder.

"Not nice to stare. If you're going to try that then here." He handed the teen a pair of sunglasses resembling Dick's.

A man across from the teen asked. "Everything alright Bruce?"

Standing back up he said motioning to the boy with sunglasses on in the meeting. "Yes, the lights were giving him a headache."

Conner looked up at Bruce then back to the man he had been watching. He kept trying for the remainder of the meeting. What was kind of funny was the man wasn't paying the least bit of attention to Bruce at all. He was typing something on his phone, Conner tried to memorize the keys he used since he couldn't see the screen from this distance.

The meeting lasted all of about 2 and a half hours. Lucius stood up at the end and came back over to Bruce and commented. "This boy has a wicked attention span, Dick would be sent out of the room after only about 10 to 15 minutes for not sitting still."

Bruce frowned and told him. "Those meetings were always in the board room at Wayne Enterprise in Gotham, you know his attention would have held here. He just chooses to not attend. Tell me did you take notes during the meeting?"

"Yeah, why?" Lucius asked his boss.

"Because we had one member not paying attention, you know I don't call people out like some people would," Bruce explained.

Lucius looked over and told him. "Who? Dean? He has a short attention span, I think he only applied for the job because of the money."

"Does he know why Wayne Enterprise has been losing money for the past 6 months?" Bruce asked as Conner stood up beside him.

Lucius looked at the man in question who was still sitting at the table as though the meeting was still going. "He says he has no idea. Honestly, Bruce, I am having my suspicions about him."

"H-he never looked up once while the meeting was going on..." Conner offered quietly, unsure if he should be getting into the middle of this conversation.

Bruce looked over at his 'son' and then back to the man. Not saying a word he walked over to the dark haired figure that kept typing away. "I hope you were taking notes."

Dean jumped a mile high when Bruce bent over and spoke into his ear. Turning he saw his boss standing above him. Putting his phone in his pocket he stood up quickly and told Bruce in a shaky voice. "Mr. Wayne… oh, um, I am so sorry… I guess I was just…"

"Distracted?" Bruce finished his sentence for him. Dean quickly nodded then felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Looking between Lucius and Dean Bruce told the new man. "When you are attending these meetings, all cellular devices are to be shut off. I don't even have mine on. This will be your only warning."

Nodding frantically Dean told him. "Yes sir, won't happen again." He scrambled out of the room quickly then down the hall.

Lucius looked over at Bruce again and told him. "If I didn't know any better I'd say he was scared of you."

Grinning Bruce told him. "Most people, especially new people _are_ scared of the boss. He might learn in time I am pretty fair, but the no cell phone policy during meetings has always been there. Is he not aware of this?"

"I will go over the policy again with him. I am sorry Bruce." Lucius told him. After that the older man left the room, leaving Conner and Bruce alone.

"Let's go to my office," Bruce told him matter of factly.

Once on the top floor, they headed down a long hallway of doors before reaching the office that said 'Bruce Wayne CEO' on a gold plaque.

Opening the door Bruce saw Dick at the computer, the boy stiffened when the door first opened but relaxed when he saw who it was.

"The man's real name is Matt Hadder… he has worked for the company for less than a year. He created a fake name for himself when he applied. He was working for Drake Industries before getting fired." Dick told Bruce when he got close enough to hear him.

Conner studied the man's name and asked Bruce. "Don't you have a villain called 'Mad Hatter'?"

"Yes, why?" Bruce responded.

Taking a yellow notepad Conner wrote down both names. "I think this Matt is him. Look rearrange the letters in the name."

Dick looked up at the two and replied. "But Matt doesn't fit the description. The Mad Hatter is about as short as I am, give or take a few inches and his hair is red not dark brown. And he is definitely not wide in the shoulders. And he's old, not young."

Bruce thought about the man in the meeting and compared it to Mad Hatter. "Dick, bring up a photo of both men. I want to run a comparison."

It only took the boy a couple of minutes to get two photos up on a divided screen. Conner frowned deeply and commented. "They have some similarities to them."

Bruce looked on at the photos and wondered just how much Conner had been able to find out. "Conner, were you able to see anything when you tried to use X-ray vision?"

Shaking his head he told him. "Not much, but I saw only shadows. I remember the keys he was typing though if that helps."

Bruce took the notepad and pen and told the teen. "Start talking."

Dick handed Conner his phone so he could see the keys and be able to tell Bruce what he had been able to see. It took all of about ten minutes for Conner to tell Bruce what he had been able to find out. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

From what Conner was describing Matt was contacting someone in another city, but it wasn't in Rome, Italy or in Gotham. And he was sending a bank account number, unfortunately, Conner wasn't able to see all the numbers, and Dick couldn't trace it without having the full amount.

Bruce stood back up after leaning over Dick's shoulder for so long. "OK boys, here's what we are going to do. We have another meeting tomorrow morning, Conner I want you to sit near Matt this time. Dick, you will attend this meeting and be sitting near me with a laptop. No game playing or horsing around on it. There will be assigned seating this time during the meeting, no one will be suspicious because I have been known to do that before."

Both boys nodded and Dick asked. "Question, ok, if I do find something do you want me to just save it until we meet back to your office? Or get your attention?"

Thinking for a second Bruce told him. "Gain my attention, I may not comment but I will at least know what you're doing. Conner you and Dick go straight to my office after the meeting. I am going to have a chat with Matt for a moment and then I will join you two and we will go over what you two have found."

Both boys nodded and Conner asked. "Do you want me to find out if he has any bank numbers on his phone? And what if he doesn't pull it out this time? You told him just a little while ago that phones had to be put away during meetings."

Bruce facepalmed and said. "Crap I did didn't I…"

"Maybe he won't listen and will pull it out anyway?" Dick suggested.

Conner thought of something. "How about I pull out a phone and start texting on it? He might think otherwise and pull his out."

After pausing, he continued.

"You said for me to sit near him, well how about if I am right next to him. I can be texting Clark or someone like that."

"Do you think Clark will go with that plan? Think he will help us out?" Dick asked his father.

"He should, and one text from me will get him to cooperate of he chooses not to answer. Are you sure you can do this Conner? You and Clark have not exactally been getting along here lately."

Conner looked out the large window for a moment at the clear blue sky, he knew he couldn't avoid Clark forever, and Clark needed to get over himself. "No, I can do it."

"Very well. Alright boys, are you two hungry?" Bruce asked them, he saw it was just after noon.

"I could go for something to eat," Dick told him.

"Sounds good to me too," Conner responded.

Bruce had called Alfred to let him know what they were doing, and the three left for a nice restaurant that Bruce knew about not far from his building. Once they were seated Conner was given Dick's phone for this next mission. He told the man who was supposed to be his father what was going on and what the plan was. It took several attempts from Conner to get the man to cooperate, but it seemed one text from Bruce got Clark to cooperate.

* * *

 **A/N:** Reactions? There was almost not going to even be an update for this weekend, so you guys can thank a persistent reviewer on this update.


	7. Not over yet

After they had lunch Bruce drove the boys around the city. The ancient city left Conner in awe, he asked questions as they drove around. Bruce took them to the Colosseum and Conner was in amazement at the sight of the old structure.

Standing back he watched as Dick lead Conner around the Colosseum and pointed out things and explained them to his friend. He knew the decision he was wanting to make was going to be the right one. In all the years he had this boy, he knew he needed more than just a friend around, he needed a brother. He smiled as the sometimes too serious Conner smiled or would laugh at something Dick was saying to him. Bruce knew everything was going to work out just fine in the end of all this.

* * *

Hours later they returned to the apartment where Alfred was preparing supper for the family. He looked up and smiled when they walked in the door.

"And how were the tours, Master Dick and Master Conner?" Alfred asked while stirring some sauce in a large pot on the stove.

The kitchen was large enough to have the dining room attached to it, so a long table sat length ways. Dick pulled out a chair and sat down. "It was great Alfred! We had so much fun. You should have seen the look on Conner's face when we went to the Sistine Chaple! He saw Michelangelo's statue of David for the first time. Bruce had to explain to him why the artist chose to sculpt a nude male."

Conner playfully slapped Dick on the arm and told him. "Hey! I didn't know alright."

Sitting down next to Dick Conner couldn't help but feel close to him. They had really bonded today as brothers. They had been on countless missions together and even played the role of brothers once before when traveling in Europe. But even then he didn't feel like he was overly attached like he was now. Dick had been wearing sunglasses on that mission, he didn't see who he really was. He was feeling something he had never felt before a day in his life: acceptance, a sense of belonging. It just felt right sitting there at the table with Dick and Bruce at the head of it. He didn't feel as though he had to remain angry or on edge. Maybe because for the first time someone outside the team showed him the slightest bit of trust, and attention. Bruce felt more like a father to him then a scary, mysterious mentor for the Young Justice team. He just hoped that things wouldn't change too much between them once they were on missions again with the team.

Dick had been telling Alfred about their adventures when he noticed Conner's far off look. "Conner? You ok?"

Jumping slightly Conner looked over at his friend then back to Alfred and Bruce. "I'm fine, I was just thinking."

Bruce had a pretty good idea what was going through the boy's mind, he also could sense the boys worry about things changing. He remembered the last several reports that the team gave him he noticed how Conner had always stayed to the back of their small group, never really coming forward if only just slightly. He could see the questions racing through the teen's mind about where he would be living after this trip. His phone chimed, interrupting his thoughts, pulling it out of his suit pocket he stood up to call Lucius back.

Dick watched his father leave and wondered why he was very lost in thought. He had been enjoying his time in Rome, hanging out with Conner and teaching him new things.

Bruce walked back in the room, there was a slight worry on his face. "I have to go back to the office for a little while. Whoever is behind this embezzling just struck again, they withdrew over $70,000.00 this time."

"Hey Bruce, just a thought, is the money coming to a Rome account? Or a US account?" Dick asked.

"Dick we would not be here if it was in the US," Bruce told him.

Dick thought hard about his answer before saying. "Think about it, the money may have been transferred _from_ Rome _to_ the _US_."

"My sources say differently, I am being told that they are coming in from the US to a Rome account," Bruce told him putting both hands on the back of the chair he had been sitting in.

"Can I come with you? I would like to look more into it?" Dick asked.

Bruce shook his head slightly and told him. "Not this time buddy. Tell you what, I will leave my laptop here and you can go over it. Maybe you can find something I am not seeing. I even tried the Batcomputer and couldn't find anything. So if you can find something I am not able to find, more power to ya."

"Ok, and I will let you know what I find when you get back. If I find something huge then I will call you at the office." Dick told him.

"Sounds like a plan. Alfred just save me something, hopefully, I should be back within a couple of hours."

"As you wish sir. Good luck." The faithful butler told him.

Dick stood up and went to Bruce's office and got the laptop off the desk and took it to the dining room table. Opening it up he started looking through countless files that Bruce had. Conner silently read from beside the Boy Wonder and watched him read the graphs and numbers, none of which made sense to him.

"I have a question..." Conner asked quietly as Dick typed away on the internet searching through banks that were listed.

"What's that?" Dick asked never taking his eyes off the computer screen.

"How many companies does Bruce own?"

"There are 13 branches, and a lot of foundations, he created 2 foundations in honor of his parents. This requires him to go through a lot of banks to manage a lot of his money in order to pay his employees. He is a global Enterprise now that is going pretty well. But what doesn't add up is he has multiple banks handling his money…" Dick answered him.

Looking up for the first time he saw Alfred preparing two plates of spaghetti. "Hey Alfred, I know where pretty much all of Bruce's banks are for his companies. But, does he have one in New York by chance?"

Alfred brought the plates over and set one down beside Dick. "Not that I know of sir. I know he was thinking about it, he recently opened one in Metropolis."

"I was at the Grand opening for that one, Clark was one of the reporters," Dick told him as he looked back at the file for New York.

"Is that one of Bruce's files?" Conner asked.

"No, I hacked into the account number for the bank here in Rome and found a Bank account that should not be listed. It looks as though someone rerouted money going from Rome to Gotham by sending it to a small bank in New York."

Conner looked at the bank number at the top of the screen. "Those are the last few digits that I saw Matt typing on his cell phone! And then suddenly over $70,000 comes up missing."

"But why such a low amount..." Dick said rhetorically.

He once again became absorbed into his findings and ignored everyone around him.

Alfred stood beside Conner and told him. "Master Bruce has taught him well when it comes to obsessions hasn't he?"

"That's for sure," Conner replied as he started eating.

Dick suddenly stopped what he was doing and picked up his cell phone.

"Bruce Wayne please," Dick said to the receptionist.

After a few minutes, Dick started talking again. "Hey Bruce, I found something interesting coming from the bank here in Rome. They are authorizing a withdraw going to New York. Conner recognized the bank number. Ok, see you soon."

Hanging up he looked over at Conner. "I have a feeling our trip here is pretty much over."

"Why what did he say?" Conner asked curiously.

Dick turned his chair and looked at his friend directly. "Bruce said that they had a lead on the receiving person. And get this, it matches what I found. So he said in a couple of days we will be heading for New York."

"Why in a couple of days?" Conner wanted to know.

"Cause the pilot is visiting family here in Rome. He also has to refill the gas tank and go through all the maintenance to make sure that the Jet is safe for travel. It's protocol when you fly, especially when you are flying a multi-millionaire and his family."

"Make's sense. So what do we do in the meantime?" Conner asked taking another bite of his cooling dinner.

Dick got a sly grin on his face and said. "We have some fun..."

Conner got a bad feeling, anytime on Mount Justice when Robin got that look on his face he knew they were going to get yelled at by a member of the Justice League: mainly Batman.

Seeing the concern on Conner's face Dick told him. "Don't worry, we won't get in trouble… much."

"Dick, it's different when there are 5 of us that get into trouble… but 2? I really don't want to be on the receiving end of Bruce's temper for the second time."

"What are you talking about, you've been on the receiving end more times than 2."

"That was before I knew who you two were!"

Shrugging Dick told him. "Eh, you'll be fine, Bruce will mainly yell at me like he always does when there's trouble."

Alfred had stepped out when he came back Dick's plate wasn't touched, Conner was nearly finished and he heard the word trouble pop out of Dick's mouth.

"Master Dick, why is it your dinner has not been touched? And why did I hear the word 'trouble' come out of your mouth?"

Looking up at Alfred Dick told him. "Honestly, I forgot all about my plate sitting here. And there is no reason to worry, I am not going to start trouble."

Alfred moved to stand closer to Dick's side. "I find that hard to believe young sir. Ever since you hit your teens you have been rebelling and causing some sort of trouble."

Smiling wide Dick told the old butler. "Welcome to life with a teenager, I am sure Bruce caused enough trouble when he was my age."

Alfred looked down at the 13-year-old with a stern look and told him. "When Master Bruce was your age I threatened to send him to boarding school if he did not act appropriately. Seeing as I was his primary caregiver by that age I had full power to do just that. When he did not believe I would ever do such a thing I showed him otherwise by sending him away for almost 2 years. When he came back he had a new attitude towards me."

Dick couldn't tell from Alfred's expression if he was being serious or not, and he certainly didn't want to find out otherwise. He pushed the laptop away from him and began to eat his dinner quietly without responding to Alfred. Conner looked worriedly between the two before finishing his own plate and took it over to the kitchen. He looked back and noticed that Dick was still silently eating only this time he was looking over a file on the computer.

Asking quietly Conner turned to Alfred. "Did you really send Bruce away?"

Alfred looked out the window that was behind Dick and told Conner absently. "No, I did not, he left home when he was 14 on his own accord to pursue his own education by traveling around the world. He learned many things while he was away, and some of which included becoming a crime-fighter. Not long after returning to the Manor did he done the cowl, before that he tried to get a respectful job. He decided to take back his company shortly after becoming Batman, he said he needed to have an excuse for the double identity."

"Bruce didn't take Dick in because of charity did he?" Conner asked worriedly.

"No, he truly cares for the boy and treats him as though he were his own son. It's strange, though, with the way he was acting before that night, he never showed any signs that he ever wanted children. It surprised me when he told me he was taking Master Dick in, but I didn't doubt he could become a father. Though, he did act like your own father at first. Very distant, showed no interest for several weeks until one night I talked to him, I thought I was getting through until Master Dick ran off. I was unaware that he had left until some time later when Master Bruce returned with him in the Batmobile. At first, Master Dick's stay had only been considered temporary. Master Bruce informed me that he would let me know when it would become permanent. When I saw Master Dick in the Batcave was when I knew the answer that he had become a part of this family, forever."

They grew silent as Alfred began cleaning up the kitchen after lunch.

* * *

Dick brought his plate to the kitchen and rinsed it off himself before going up to his and Conner's room and laying on his bed. The wallpaper bothered him but he knew they weren't going to be there much longer so he just ignored it as he pulled out his phone and began texting Wally. He hadn't heard any new news about Gotham from Flash but he knew he would sooner or later. He told his friend that their trip wasn't over yet and that they were going to New York for a few days. They had a lead on who's been stealing money from the Wayne Foundation.

He was so engrossed in what he was doing he didn't hear Bruce knock on the doorframe. Bruce noticed his ward didn't move when he knocked and figured something had his full attention.

"Dick?" When this didn't get his attention he walked over to him and took his phone out of his hand.

Sitting up quickly he said. "Hey!"

"Well, I tried to knock and said your name to get your attention," Bruce told him firmly.

Conner had stayed downstairs with Alfred so it was just Dick in the big room. "So what other leads did you find? Anything after we talked on the phone?"

Nodding Dick said. "Yeah, I saved it to a separate file on your computer. I didn't figure you would care since it is important information. It seems as if there are more than just one party involved with this. Why won't the Police or FBI look into this?"

Bruce sat on the foot of the bed and told his son. "Because you know how I feel about the justice system. They would have dragged this case on and on until the person had completely wiped me clean. Or at least put a huge dent in it. I can at least live with only losing thousands to one hundred thousand, but not millions. And that is what it would have added up too if it was up to the Police or the FBI."

Nodding in understanding Dick leaned against the headboard of the bed. Bruce let out a sigh and said. "So I hear you mouthed off to Alfred just a little bit ago?"

Looking down sheepishly Dick said. "Yeah I kinda did… Sorry."

"Not half as sorry as your going to be when we get back to Gotham. Just so you know in advance you have lost this cell phone when we get back, along with a few other privileges that we will go over then. You need to shape up Dick."

Dick didn't want to dig himself a deeper hole so he just nodded and told Bruce. "Yes, sir."

Thinking about his conversation with Alfred before he completely got disrespectful he asked softly. "You're not gonna send me away are you?"

Frowning Bruce asked. "Why would I do that?"

"Because I have been a lot of trouble here lately."

"Alfred told you about me leaving around your age didn't he?"

Seeing the nod Dick gave in response Bruce scooted closer and lifted Dick's chin so their eyes would meet.

"I would never send you away, he didn't send me away then. I left on my own. Dick when I took you in, no actually before I took you in I visited your parent's grave. I promised them I would take care of you no matter what. There is nothing you could ever do or say that would make me ever want to get rid of you. So get those thoughts out of your head."

Bruce could tell from Dick's slumped shoulders something else was bothering him. "Is something wrong Dick? Other than you being worried I will some day send you away, which is never happening."

"When does the pain stop? I still miss them so much..." Dick told him.

Bruce leaned forward and scooped the boy into his arms. He knew he didn't always show affection to his son but there were times like these he did.

Putting his chin on Dick's head he held him close and told him. "In time… for me, it has taken many many years. Everyone is different. You will always miss them Dick, no matter if your 13 or 100, just always remember they are in your heart forever and always. How long have you felt this way? Is this why you have been acting out?"

Dick held in the tears as he said softly. "Somewhat… I guess I am just mad too… I don't know how else to express it."

"What has you angry Dick? Talk to me." Bruce encouraged, rethinking about grounding the boy once they were home.

"It's just that… I see how Wally gets along with Barry, Artemis with her uncle, and M'Gann with Martian Manhunter… I can't help but think… why Clark treats Conner the way he does? We all accept him for who he is, heck even you accept him. I know I can talk to you about anything, but Conner has no one other than us. Clark ignores him, it's not right. I thought fathers were supposed to love their children?"

Dick went silent and Bruce told him gently. "It's like I told Conner, I don't know how I would react if our roles were reversed. If it had been me instead of Clark I don't know how I would likely respond to having a clone. I am not saying what Clark is doing is right, cause it's not. I am just saying I might do the same thing."

"What if you have a child some day you didn't know anything about? You know because of your playboy image?" Dick sat back in Bruce's arms to look him in the eyes.

"Dick, I have downplayed that image a lot since taking you in. But it's only an image, I don't actually bring them home with me or go to their homes in return. I flirt more than anything. I did at some point but that's been a very long time ago, you probably would have either just been born or about a year old. So roughly about 12 to 13 years. Clark and I had gotten into a fight about my habits and he reminded me that I may not want to continue down this path if I didn't want to be a father yet. So I stopped for the most part."

They were silent for a moment before he continued. "However to answer your question, I would probably want to make sure the kid was actually mine first if someone were to land a child in my lap and say it's mine."

"Would you take him or her in if that ever happened?"

"Yes, if the mother no longer wanted the child I wouldn't turn them away."

Dick was quiet for a moment, he still sat on Bruce's lap, something he hadn't done in years.

"What about if the mother just dumped the kid off on your doorstep and just up and left the city. And the kid wasn't your child?"

Bruce sighed he was getting slightly irritated by this 20 question game Dick was playing. "Dick, I would never turn a kid away regardless of what the situation was. You got that?"

Nodding Dick slid off Bruce's lap and faced him. "You're not gonna replace me are you? When Conner gets settled into the life of crime-fighting."

Smirking at that Bruce told him softly. "Never, I could never replace you as Robin, not unless you want to leave the position."

Nodding in understanding Dick told him. "I didn't mean to bug you about this."

"I told you to come talk to me when something is bothering you," Bruce stated firmly.

There was a knock on the door frame and they both looked up to see Conner standing there.

"What's wrong Conner?" Bruce asked.

"Sorry, but Clark's on the phone, he says it's urgent."

Bruce got up and started for the door, turning he said to Dick. "We will be talking more later ok?"

Getting a nod in response Bruce headed out the door and to his office downstairs. Conner looked at his small friend and asked. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just had a moment. I get those sometimes, Bruce has to remind me to come to him when they happen."

"Is that depression?"

Sitting on the bed again Dick told him. "Yeah, I get depressed sometimes. It's not you or anyone else, I just get down when I think about my parents. And when it gets too much for me to handle I do act out, sometimes I can help it other times not. When Clark was around more he used to help balance me out. But he's been so distant in the last year, and things have been changing so fast I guess this is one of those 'I couldn't help it' types of things. I got too whelmed."

"You can talk to me too you know? I may not fully know what happened back then, but a fresh ear might be what you need at this point. Do you ever talk to Wally about it?"

"No, he never gives me the chance. He rattles off so fast that I can't get a word in edgewise."

Bruce came back to the doorway. "Boys, pack up, we are leaving in the morning."

Conner looked up at Bruce and asked. "What happened?"

"Clark found that there is another bank that money has been depositing money from the Wayne Foundation. It's not listed for some reason."

"So how does Clark know?" Dick asked coming to stand next to Conner.

Bruce leaned on the door frame and said. "Lex Luther was apparently up to his old tricks again in Metropolis, well when Clark looked into some things going on he found out that Wayne Enterprise was on his target list. Our trip here was almost a waste, we at least have one person in question."

"So are we still going to New York? Or are we going to Metropolis?" Dick asked.

Bruce thought about it for a moment. "Clark said he can handle things in Metropolis, we are going to New York."

"This was definitely a short trip. But I had fun yesterday when we went to the Colosseum." Dick told his father.

"Tell you what Dick, to make up for this we will come back, and this time it won't before business and we will spend a month here. I know you two were having fun, but I really need to get this taken care of. I will see that Alfred takes you two to Central Park once we get settled in at New York. I know that Gotham isn't too far from New York but I would rather be closer to the office and not make the one hour commute back and forth." Bruce told him honestly.

"Can I come too?" Conner asked quietly.

"I am hoping you will still be with me by this time next year, but we will find out what the future holds," Bruce told him.

Conner frowned, he had not been expecting that answer. "You mean… take me in like you did Dick?"

"That's my hope for the future, but there is just one problem, Clark is your natural father. If it happens that this goes to court then there will likely be a custody battle between us." Bruce explained.

"I don't think you have any problems with a huge fight coming from Clark, I would rather have the last name Wayne anyway… Clark doesn't care anything about me. The one time we get along was because I broke a window in the study and he helped repair it." Conner told him looking down at his feet.

Bruce wasn't getting into this with Conner right now, he knew the boy had a lot on his mind. Letting it out every now and then was fine, but once this entire embezzling situation was resolved he planned on having a long talk with both Clark and Conner.

"Master Bruce, I just received word from Mr. Fox that our pilot for the Wayne Jet has left the country."

Bruce turned to face Alfred. "What! Why?"

"Something about he was wanted in Rome for robbery years ago."

"Cripes! How do we get back now!"

"We could always use the Batplane," Dick told his mentor.

"Cute Dick, no we can't do that. It's a two-seater anyway. Alright, let me go deal with this now." Bruce exclaimed as he stormed out of the room.

"Start packing boys! We will be leaving asap!" Bruce called back.

"I do say when it rains it pours," Alfred told no one in particular.

"What does that mean?" Conner asked Dick.

"It means, trouble's not over yet..."

They began packing for New York, this was far from over. And Dick knew it….

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry for the no update last weekend guys. Please drop me a line of what you think of this chapter! I love to hear your reactions! :)


	8. Going to NYC

Later that night Bruce ordered everyone to bed early he was in no mood to handle whining of any kind at the moment. He found out that his pilot was a criminal on the run, (Not for long if Batman had anything to say about it), one of his employees was disguised as the Mad Hatter, and he was having one hell of a time finding a new pilot.

He was on the phone until almost midnight before he finally found someone who would fly them to New York in the morning. Bad thing was, the pilot wanted to leave by 4 in the morning and Bruce hadn't been to sleep yet.

Lucius had told Bruce he could handle things in Rome for now while he left for New York. This was turning into a bigger mess than he had originally thought.

Bruce informed Alfred what time they had to get up, so Bruce went to the living room and just took a nap in a recliner with the TV down low. There was no point in him getting dressed for bed if he was just going to have to get back up again in a couple of hours.

* * *

Dick woke up around 2:30, he had a nightmare, so he got up and went out of his room. Going downstairs he saw Bruce asleep in the recliner. Wondering what was going on he shook Bruce awake.

"Bruce? Why are you sleeping in here?"

Groaning softly in annoyance Bruce replied back. "Cause the new pilot I found wants to take off at 4am… we need to be up by 3. What time is it now?"

"Two-thirty." Came the reply.

 _Damn, I wonder what woke him up?_

For a moment Dick thought Bruce went back to sleep but Bruce asked him tiredly. "You have a nightmare again?"

"Yeah, I had a hard time going back to sleep after it."

Groaning slightly Bruce told him. "Go get your blanket and pillow and sleep for half an hour on the couch. I have an alarm set to wake us up at 3."

He motioned to his cell phone laying on the table next to him. Dick went and got a pillow and blanket and stretched out on the couch for the next half hour. Tossing and turning Dick couldn't get the nightmare from his mind. He didn't realize he had actually fallen asleep until strong hands gently shook him.

"Dick? Come on buddy."

Stirring Dick looked into the worried eyes of Bruce.

"Same nightmare?"

Nodding Dick told him. "I don't wanna get up..."

Bruce turned on the table lamp beside Dick and lifted the blanket to see what the boy was wearing, sweats and a white T-Shirt.

"Go back to sleep then, I will come for you when we are ready to go."

Nodding Dick rolled over so his face was in the back of the couch.

* * *

Climbing the stairs he peaked into the boys' room and saw Conner up and pulling on a long sleeved black shirt.

"Good Morning Conner."

"Morning Bruce, I heard your alarm from your phone going off..."

He saw the questioning look in Conner's eyes as he looked over at Dick's bed. "I figured as much, Dick ended up on the couch just a little bit ago. We will wake him just before we leave." Bruce told him as he walked over to the closet and pulled out a shirt and a pair of jeans for Dick to change into once they got on the plane.

Getting the rest of his son's clothes packed up he turned to Conner. "Are you all packed up?"

"Yes sir, I got Dick's phone from under his pillow and put it in my bag," Conner told him as he picked up his bag and followed Bruce out of the room.

Bruce went downstairs with Conner behind him, he saw Alfred by the door.

"Where is Master Dick?" Alfred asked as he took the bags from Conner.

"I'll get him, you two just go ahead to the car."

"As you wish sir." Alfred motioned for Conner to grab one of the other bags by the door and they took them outside.

Bruce looked at his watch, 3:20. At least the airport wasn't too far from where they were currently at. He bent over the edge of the couch and tried to wake Dick up.

"Dick? Come on buddy time to go."

Dick groaned and rolled over. Bruce walked around the couch and picked Dick up in his arms, pillow and all. Reaching over he flicked off the lamp and shut the door behind him. He saw Alfred coming back. "I don't know if I got everything locked up, would you mind checking while I get him down to the car?"

Alfred nodded and kept going. Bruce got to the car and Conner opened the door.

"I believe he did this when we arrived two days ago?" Conner commented when Bruce adjusted Dick so the boy had his pillow on Bruce's lap with the blanket still over him.

"He did, he never has handled flying well."

"He never does this when we are on the Bio-Ship," Conner told him.

"That's different, the ship moves at a slower rate than a plane does and at less of an altitude. Even in the Batplane, he doesn't do this, and it moves a lot faster than a jet."

Conner's eyes went wide at that bit of information. "How fast exactly does it go?"

"When I'm flying alone, I can almost keep up with Superman. Well, I can at least see his blue and red streak."

"Wow, that is fast. Can he outrun Flash? I heard he tried to once?"

"It's true, they did have a race a while back… and as far as who won… I think the reports said that it was a tie."

"I wonder if I could out run Kid Flash?" Conner asked as he looked out the window.

"You might be able too," Bruce told him distractedly as Alfred came back and got behind the wheel.

"Everything is put away sir, and I locked up the doors."

"Good." Bruce adjusted Dick again as the car pulled out.

* * *

A half-hour later found Bruce once again carrying Dick to the back of the plane and laid him down for the long flight to New York.

Dick came out of the back room of the plane a while later to see Bruce, Alfred and Conner sleeping in their seats. Dick turned around and went back to the bedroom and pulled out his phone, he didn't know if Bruce's threat was legit about taking it so he wanted to use it as much as possible before he got it taken away.

Bruce had been asleep for several minutes when he sensed movement near him, he peeked his eyes open and saw Dick heading back to his room. He knew the boy was tired still.

* * *

Conner could hear something coming from the back of the plane, it was soft and sounded like silent crying. He woke up fully and went to the back, he found Dick asleep on the bed, but the boy was obviously in distress. Conner could quickly tell the smaller teen was having a nightmare of some kind, he walked up to the side of it and shook Dick a little and said.

"Dick? Wake up." But he got no response, just more crying.

Not sure what to do now he went ahead and tried again. "Dick, come on buddy!" He spoke louder this time.

Bruce had been asleep when he could hear Conner try and wake Dick, getting up he headed for the back of the plane to find Conner gently shaking Dick. Smiling at the older boys efforts he said.

"Conner, sometimes you can't bring him out of it."

Looking up with concern Conner asked. "Why?"

"I am really not sure, but there are just times even I can't bring him out of it. Here let me give it a try."

Bruce and Conner shifted positions in the cramped room, Bruce sat on the edge of the bed. Conner stood at the foot and watched as Bruce ran his hand through Dick's raven hair and talked softly to him.

"Dick, come on son wake up. You're only having a nightmare it's alright, you're safe I promise." Bruce told the boy soothingly.

After a few more calming words Dick opened his eyes wide, but what Bruce wasn't expecting, was for Dick to wrap his arms around his neck and started crying.

"Don't leave me..." Dick said so softly that Conner almost didn't hear it.

Bruce put his arms around his son comfortingly and told him. "I'm right here Dick, I am not going anywhere. Shh, it was just a bad dream it's alright."

Dick shifted until he was in Bruce's lap. "That must have been some dream kiddo. Shh, hey don't cry it's ok."

Bruce rocked him gently, at this moment it felt as though Dick was 8 again and not going on 14. Bruce motioned for Conner to leave the room, he felt Dick would be embarrassed if Conner saw him crying like this.

Conner nodded and left, leaving father and son to themselves. He put his headphones on and listened to the radio from the handheld radio he brought with him.

Bruce eventually got Dick to calm down enough he could ask. "What got you so upset? You have not done this in quite a while."

Dick pulled back and told Bruce. "I had a dream… half of it was about my parents, then, the other half was… about you… that one night you couldn't get out of the Batplane as it got shot down… the emergency ejector wouldn't work and you couldn't get out… the plane landed in the ocean and you died on impact."

Bruce held his son again and told him. "That won't happen, Dick… you know I always run a safety check before taking off."

"Yeah… but you got shot down… Nothing was wrong with the plane..."

Bruce wasn't sure how to respond to that, he knew this boys' deepest fear was becoming an orphan again. He also knew that it was very possible for him to get shot down.

"You said that the seat ejector didn't work? How about you and I run a safety check on the plane when we get back? Will that make you feel better?"

Nodding Dick asked. "Was Conner in here?"

"Yes but I sent him out."

"I didn't scare him did I?"

Smiling down at his son he said. "Maybe a little, do you want me to send him in here?"

"No, how close are we to New York?"

"About another hour out."

"I'll get changed and come out. Thanks for getting me some clothes to put on."

"No problem, get dressed and I will see you soon."

Taking his seat again he looked over at Conner who was drifting off, Alfred was watching the scenery out the window. Bruce looked out his own window and waited for Dick to come out and join them.

It didn't take the boy long and he was sitting beside Bruce next to the window.

"Is everything alright?" Bruce nudged the boy as he remained silent.

"Yea everything's fine," Dick replied absently.

They were quiet for the remainder of the flight.

* * *

Getting off the plane Conner looked around at New York it was so beautiful with the light snow everywhere, he glanced over at Dick and commented. "It looks a little like Gotham City?"

"I know right? There used to be these twin buildings that had the same amount of floors both were the tallest landmarks in this country. They were called 'The World Trade Center'..."

Conner looked to the skyline and asked. "What happened? You're talking like they are gone now?"

Bruce told Conner. "The buildings were attacked many years ago by terrorists, they collapsed to the ground." He paused then added. "I don't have any meetings today if you two would like I could take you to 'Ground Zero' as they now labeled the remains of the buildings."

Dick had been there a couple of times, but he was all for going again. "Sure. I like going to pay tribute to it. Conner, it's an interesting place to visit."

Alfred got off of his cell phone and told them. "Master Bruce, we will be staying at World Center Hotel."

Bruce nodded and told his old friend. "That's near the 911 Memorial, sounds good."

He opened the door to the waiting limo and they all got in, it was strange for Alfred to not be driving this time. As they got closer to the downtown area of New York Dick couldn't help but look around as the buildings were brighter for some reason in comparison to Gotham. He pointed out skyscrapers to Conner and pointed to different sights as they drove through.

Conner couldn't believe that New York City was bigger than Gotham City, but in some ways he could. _Wow this place is huge!_ He thought as he watched hundreds of people walking along the sidewalks and going down some stairs heading for the subway. There were cars almost bumper to bumper in what seemed to be about 6 lanes of traffic. This city was huge and there was so much to look at.

"Does New York have its own superhero like our city?" He was trying to be cautious about how he worded things with a stranger within earshot.

Bruce looked out the window and told him. "No, but if you read in comic books there's a group of mutant turtles that protect the city."

Dick saw a large manhole leading to the sewers, with a wicked grin he told Conner. "That's true, and of course they're the rumors about what lives in the sewers of New York."

"What do you mean?" Conner asked.

Bruce knew where he was going with this but decided to let Dick have his fun.

"That Alligators live in the sewers, they say that it all started when this boy around my age had a pet baby Alligator and his mom flushed it down the toilet and it grew up to be a monster in size down in the sewers."

"If it's so big then why hasn't anyone tried to catch it?" Conner asked.

"That's a story for another time, look we are at the hotel," Dick told him easily.

* * *

As they got up to the suite Bruce's phone went off. Answering he went to another room to talk leaving the boys and Alfred to their own devices.

Dick was putting his bags in a closet when Conner asked. "How many times have you been here?"

"Where? New York?" Conner nodded in response.

"I've been here multiple times, with the circus and with Bruce," Dick told him as he closed the closet door.

Bruce came back into the room and told them. "Alright boys, I have to run over to Wayne Enterprise for a while, Alfred is coming with me. I want you two to stay here in the hotel, you are not to leave for any reason what so ever am I clear?"

"Yes, sir," Conner told him with a slight solute.

Dick, however, didn't respond.

"Richard Grayson, am I clear," Bruce told him with warning in his voice. _Please don't act up again...  
_ He wanted to say out loud.

"Yes… sir." Dick told him with a defiant scowl on his face.

"Dick, you had better not think about trying to leave this hotel room. Or I will take you back to Gotham personally and make sure you're on lock down at the Manor _with_ a sitter." Bruce informed him.

"Fine," Dick told him stubbornly.

Bruce shook his head and started to leave when a text came across his phone, without responding to Dick and Alfred's questioning looks he typed a reply and told Alfred.

"We are good to go. Remember Dick, no leaving this room."

"Can we order room service?"

"If it keeps you up here, then yes. You can order whatever you two want, the menu is on the table next to the phone."

"OK." Was all Dick told him as they both walked out the door.

Conner looked at his young friend questioningly. "You're not plotting on leaving anyway are you?"

"No, he was serious about taking me back to Gotham. The sitter he mentioned would be Clark, granted I have always thought of Clark as an uncle, I know better than to push Bruce's buttons about Clark babysitting me. If Clark is told I am on lock-down let's just say he can use his superpowers to keep me in the Manor. He's done it before, trust me I don't wanna go that route again."

"So he does have a tough side when he's around you? I have only seen the soft side."

"Yeah, you don't want to see the other side of him. He can be a royal ass when provoked."

Conner walked over to the phone and picked up the menu. Frowning he asked. "Dick, what are Brussels sprouts?"

Dick chuckled and told him. "It looks like little cabbage balls. They smell horrible and taste worse. My mom used to make me eat them all the time. Alfred tried until he found out I was spitting them out in the trash. But that was back when I first moved to the Manor, I was scared of being sent away at the time if I acted up or did anything wrong." _Although the fear is still there sometimes…_ He told himself silently.

"Do you want to try them? Just because I don't like them doesn't mean you won't." Dick told him as he walked over and began looking over the menu.

"Hey, they have pizza! And lasagna!" Dick told him happily.

"I think I would rather try the lasagna, sounds more appealing," Conner told him.

Picking up the phone Dick told him. "Sounds like a plan, I will order enough for Bruce and Alfred too."

"Family size?"

"Yep," Dick told him as he put the order in.

Conner walked over to the window and looked outside at the snow covered view. It was early afternoon so the sun cast a shadow over the buildings that stood below them. _I wonder what happened here back in 9/11?_

He watched cars come and go from the street below. He listened to his friend order their food as he watched the various cars go by below him.

"It's amazing, isn't it? It's so much bigger than Gotham City." Dick said as he walked up beside his friend. They stood there for a few moments looking at the snow covered city. Dick was happy to be back in the states, he knew in just a matter of days they were going back to Gotham.

"Is it any less dangerous here than in Gotham?" Conner asked softly pulling Dick from his thoughts.

"No, actually I asked Bruce a year or two ago why he didn't choose New York to protect instead of Gotham..."

Conner glanced over at him waiting for the rest of the answer.

A grin came to Dick's face as he said. "But he told me the reason is because the NYPD are much better than the police in Gotham. They don't have a corrupt justice system here like they do over there. Besides, he grew up in Gotham."

"Gotham's police are corrupt? I thought they did pretty good?"

"Ha ha, good one Conner, if that's the case then why do they need Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Superman and Superboy to protect it?"

"But I'm not..." Conner started to say. "Oh yes you are, you do anything to bring down a criminal in Gotham, you're automatically on their list of favorite vigilantes."

"Superman? I thought he protected Metropolis?"

"Oh he does, that's his home to guard, like Gotham's Batman's. He comes to Gotham when Batman has trouble with a case, which is rare but not unheard of. Batman also goes to Metropolis when Superman needs help. Sometimes they work together in a totally different city or even country. But that was when Batman became more involved with the Justice League."

A knock on the door got their attention.

"That was fast," Conner commented as Dick went to answer it.

Standing on tiptoes Dick looked out the peep-hole to see a man in a white kitchen uniform standing there with a food cart, but his face seemed awfully familiar…

"Too fast..." Dick kept the door chained as he opened it.

"Yes?"

"Is this Wayne's room?" The man asked, he seemed slightly nervous for some reason, but Dick suspected that there was more to this than that because their room was the only one on this floor.

"It could be, I just put in the order 5 minutes ago? How was it finished that quickly?" Dick felt his nerves go on edge, something wasn't right here. He gazed down at the cart to see the cart-skirt sway a little as if someone were below it.

"Oh it was already cooked, they just sent it on up."

 _Um, yea dude you just gave yourself away._ Dick thought as he looked back and gave Conner a suggesting nod towards the phone.

"Hang on, just a moment, my father doesn't like for me to open the door to strangers," Dick told him as he closed and bolted the door.

Going to where Conner was dialing the phone he told him softly. "Conner, wait, don't call the front desk. Taking his cell out of his pocket he started to text Bruce.

 _Bruce, get back here! There is an impostor at the door. I can't fight as Dick._

About a second later came the reply.

 _Stall, I'm on my way._

Dick walked back to the door and unlocked the deadbolt. "What was it we ordered again?"

Lifting the lid to the silver platter the man told him. "Looks like you ordered a pizza."

"And there's no other Wayne's here besides us?"

"No, look, kid, just open the door and I can give you your food." The man was shaking a little, his hands gripping the handle of the tray tightly. Dick looked down and saw a shoe sticking out slightly from under the cart. Frowning he tried to stall longer so Bruce would have time to get to them.

"What is your name?" Dick asked easily.

Conner tried not to be seen as he gathered a few supplies into a backpack they had with them, he also grabbed their coats. He knew if Bruce wasn't there soon that they would have to make a run for it. They couldn't be caught fighting out of uniform. He could hear Dick stalling, his phone buzzed.

 _Conner. Why isn't Dick answering? Are you two alright? I am stuck on the third floor._

Conner looked over at Dick, he knew they were in a tough spot. He heard Dick ask the guy for his name, but no answer so far. He texts Bruce back.

 _Dick is at the door, he's stalling the guy._

About a minute later.

 _Give me a description of the man in question then I want you two to get out of there as fast as possible, there is an alternate exit in the back room, it leads to a fire escape. Get to the streets and keep your phone on and I will contact you to find you._

Turning his attention to the door he squinted hard to see through it. He saw the man below the cart shift, once he could see what the man standing looked like he texts the information to Bruce.

* * *

After ending the meeting abruptly Bruce and Alfred had headed to the car in double time and raced back to the hotel. Trying to be careful of the snowy roads they got to the hotel only to get stuck on the third floor. Since there was no one but them on board Bruce used the emergency exit in the ceiling to get on top of the car and he climbed the ladder to the top floor.

Getting the emergency door open he stepped out into the hallway. He felt bad for leaving Alfred back at the elevator but he had to get to his boys. Getting close to the door he could see the man standing there. He couldn't hear what was being said but he could see that Dick was getting ready to shut the door.

He hid around a small corner once he was with in hearing range and listened.

* * *

Dick could sense that Conner was getting nervous, this man was not a hotel worker.

"You never answered me. What is your name?"

Seeing movement again under the cart Dick told the man. "If you don't give me your name then I won't open the door."

"Listen, boy, just open the door."

Dick frowned and turned back to Conner. "You remember that cover I mentioned out on the sidewalk?"

Seeing the nod Dick told him. "Make a run for it, I will hold this guy off it's Madd Hatter and his goon!"

"Why you little punk! Open the door" Hatter exclaimed as his hired hand came out from hiding. He pushed against the chained door as Dick turned on his heel and headed for the other exit in the room. Dick caught sight of the red hair sticking out from under the cap he was wearing. He knew he had to get them out of there.

Hatter kicked the door in as Dick made a run for the Exit.

Racing for the exit they pushed through and ran down the fire escape, slipping on occasion due to the snow, once at ground level Dick shouted to Conner. "Come on! This way!"

He leads him to the manhole they had seen on their way to the hotel, pulling his phone out of his pocket he saw he had missed messages from Bruce. He would have to leave it for now, Conner lifted the heavy cover as Dick went down first Conner followed shortly behind him. They dropped off the ladder, luckily they were in a dry part of the sewer. They could hear running from above them along with shouting.

"How long do we stay down here?" Conner whispered. His voice though low echoed off the brick walls of the tunnel they were in.

"Long enough for Bruce to find us. We should move out of the light at least. We don't want those guys finding us."

The smell wasn't as bad as Dick thought it would be, he had never been in the sewers of New York, in Gotham he had though. The air was chillier than it had been above ground. He chuckled a little thinking about one of the villains in Gotham.

"What's so funny?"

"This place reminds me of Killer Crock. He lives in the sewers of Gotham."

Looking around nervously Conner asked. "Didn't you say there was a myth about Alligators in the sewers in New York?"

Dick chuckled a little and said. "Yeah, but it's just a myth. We are safe down here… well for now. If we had stayed on the streets probably not. Yeah NYPD has good cops, and they are nothing like what I have to deal with back at home. You still have some that are corrupt and you don't know where those ones hang out."

" _Where did those kids go?"_

Dick froze he could hear the two men talking above them, he motioned for Conner to stay silent as they moved from the sewer grate they were under. This entire line of sidewalk had a lot of grates he knew they were not going to be safe here.

"We have to keep moving." He whispered to Conner.

Dick's phone suddenly went off in his pocket, thankfully the phone was on vibrate. Looking at it, he saw Bruce was calling him. Making sure he was in the clear he said first to Conner.

"Cover me, keep an ear out for those guys."

Nodding Conner watched Dick move down the tunnel a little ways.

"Bruce? Did you make it back upstairs?"

" _I'm on the streets, where are you?"_

"The last place those guys would even remotely think of looking..."

From where he was crouched on the ground he could hear a man speak, looking over at Conner he noticed the thumbs up sign meaning he was still clear.

" _And where would that be?"_

Looking around he thought Bruce's voice was echoing, looking over at Conner he noticed him pointing up. Walking over he looked up and saw Bruce standing above them. Taking the phone back to his ear he said.

"Look down from where you are standing."

He noticed a pause and then Bruce looked down. The movement caused some snow to fall into the sewers.

" _The sewers Dick? Really?"_

"Hey, it through them off our trail didn't it?"

" _Dick, just get back up here."_

Chuckling as he hung up they made their way back to the manhole. Conner pushed the heavy, metal lid off and let Dick out first. Just as Conner put the cover back in place they could hear shouting and running footsteps.

Bruce grabbed Dick and told Conner. "Run back to the hotel! Fast!"

Nodding in understanding he ran at top speed back to the hotel. Bruce and Dick ran behind him dodging the several people that were walking, and trying to avoid slipping on the snow covered ground.

"Bruce, it's the Madd Hatter!"

Turning back to look he saw Hatter and his accomplices chasing them drawing guns. "Yeah it's him, turn here."

They ran down the back ally to the hotel, Bruce tried to open the Kitchen's service entrance but it was locked tight.

"Oh crap, what now?" Dick asked from beside him.

Madd Hatter came around the corner, instead of there just being him and one man now there were four. Bruce knew they didn't stand a chance against them without his utility belt.

"Bruce, I think this is more than just an embezzlement thing..." Dick told him with worry lacing his voice.

"Hatter, what do you want?" Bruce asked he knew he had to keep calm, for Dick's sake.

"So Bruce Wayne… you finally show your face?" Hatter said as he along with his armed men walked closer.

"Why did you steal that money then pretend to work for my company?"

"It was so I had access to your accounts of course. I could have gotten clean away if _someone_ hadn't hacked our account and took all that money back!" He exclaimed looking directly at Dick.

Dick kept his cool and stepped forward. "Yeah, so what if I hacked it? It wasn't your money, to begin with!"

"Kid, you steal from me, I steal from you back." Aiming the gun Bruce shouted. "No!" Just as one of Hatter's men pulled the trigger.

All Bruce kept thinking was _"No, not again... not in an alley..."_ He waited and braced for the bullet to hit him as the gun went off. Dick could feel the strong arms of Bruce wrap around him in order to protect him as a shot rang out in the alley...

* * *

 **A/N: Uh… Did I just do something evil? The more reactions I get the faster I update and you can find out if Bruce or Dick got shot or not...**


	9. Relief

**A/N:** You all still with me? OK good, Thank you for all the reviews guys! It meant so much to me! **Please let me know how you liked this chapter. :)**

* * *

Conner was standing on the wall when he saw the man getting ready to pull the trigger. His heart was racing as he saw the man raise the gun to take aim. He heard Bruce shout no just as the shot was fired. Using his speed he raced forward and took the bullet instead, but, to everyone who didn't know him was surprised, the bullet bounced off his skin. Without a word he turned to Bruce and Dick and grabbed them, making a jump for it, he cleared the wall and landing in the snow covered grass on the other side.

Once they landed Bruce struggled to stay on his feet, but he felt weak from the scare they just had, his wobbly knees gave out as he fell to the ground. His hands in the snow and head bent low. He was breathing heavily from fear and adrenaline.

"Bruce!" Both boys exclaimed at once.

Trying to catch his breath he could hear the sounds of Police sirens coming their way along with Hatter and his men leaving.

His breath hitched as he looked up at Conner. "Thank you..."

Looking back down at the man that he was beginning to think of as a father he told him. "Anytime, are you alright?"

"Yes, Dick are you OK?" Dick was kneeled on the ground beside him, his face was pale and his breathing was heavy.

Swallowing hard Dick told him. "Yeah… I'm fine, Conner we didn't even see you when you jumped in front of us."

"I had heard you two talking from the other side of the building, I ran around back when I had seen those guys blocking your exit. I had just jumped up on the wall when they fired their guns."

Dick got to his feet as he said. "You definitely have 'faster than a speeding bullet' down pat."

Once Bruce caught his breath he stood up on shaky legs, placing a hand on Conner's shoulder he told him. "Thank you, I am so proud of you for what you did. I know Superman is bulletproof, but are you?"

"Yes, we found that out at Cadmus," Conner answered honestly, trying to ease the worried older man's mind.

"Good."

Just then an officer came around the corner. "Hey you? You Bruce Wayne?"

"Yes, sir."

"Are you all, alright? We had reports of gunshots in that alley over there. How did you clear that 5-foot wall so easily?"

Bruce chuckled and told him. "Well my son here is an expert hurdle jumper, I have thought about letting him train in the Olympics. He grabbed us and jumped."

The officer looked between Conner and Bruce and commented. "Really? Where you from boy?"

Looking up at Bruce then back to the officer he said. "Smallville Kansas, sir. I recently got adopted."

Shaking his head he told the teen with a slight New York accent, "Well kid, guess you can't take the country out of the boy now can ya? Ya did good protectin your stepfather like that. Mr. Wayne, we didn't catch those guys, but we will put an APB out to catch them."

"Thank you, I appreciate that."

"Do you know who those men were?"

Bruce glanced at both boys before saying. "I recognize one from the news in Gotham, Madd Hatter I think he's called."

"Huh? I thought he only went after that Bat I have heard about? Why would he go after you?"

"Because earlier this year a new man was hired at Wayne Enterprise in Gotham, ever since he got hired thousands of dollars came up missing. I began investigating myself into who could possibly be stealing from me. Well, my son here, Richard, he helps sometimes with financing, he noticed that money was coming through to a bank that wasn't on my list. That's what brought me here to New York when I questioned the man he ran from me."

"Sa how did ya end up in that alley?" The officer asked.

"I had left for my Wayne Enterprise branch here in New York when my son text me that there was a stranger at the door posing as a waiter for the hotel. He got scared and ran out the back exit, but the men gave chase and hid in the sewers. He contacted me and told me where he was, I found him, but when we were coming back to the hotel was when those men chased us. Conner is a faster runner and was way ahead of us, the men chased us down that ally. That was when Conner found us and got us out of there."

The officer wrote down the statement and told him. "Sounds logical enough for me. We will catch these guys Mr. Wayne I can promise you that."

Shaking the officer's hand Bruce told him. "Thanks again, if you need me I will be here for a couple more days."

"Yes sir, I will keep that in mind." With that, the officer left.

Once out of earshot Bruce turned back to the boys who were talking quietly. "Conner, thank you for saving us."

Giving him a shy grin the teen told him. "You probably would have done the same for me."

"True, come on boys, let's go back to the room, I am sure Alfred is worried sick."

The three went back up to the hotel room to find a worried Alfred. "Sir? Are you alright? When you didn't return I..."

"It's alright Alfred, the boys hid in the sewers to escape Hatter. Now that we know who is behind this, we need to find out why. Dick, I want you to hack the Batcomputer from my laptop, see if you can dig up anything that Hatter has been up to recently."

"Sure thing." Running over to Bruce's bed he took the laptop bag and took it over to the desk on the other side of the room.

Alfred walked over to Dick and told him. "Really Master Dick? You and Master Conner were in the sewers? You are to go take a bath before pursuing Master Bruce's wishes."

"But Alfred..." Dick started to say. "But nothing young man, you smell of sewage. Now off you go."

"But." Alfred's eyes grew wide as he told Dick firmly. "NOW!"

Jumping up he ran for the bathroom. Turning back to Bruce Alfred told him. "Sorry for taking over there sir, but he did smell quite badly."

"It's alright Alfred, I wasn't thinking about that when I asked him to do that. Besides, he's getting just as bad as I am about hunting down information."

"That he is sir," Alfred told him kindly.

Conner stood off to the side and then walked over and got a change of clothes and waited for Dick to get done. While he was sitting on the floor with his knees drawn up to his chest Bruce walked over.

"The front desk called, did you two order room service just before all this happened?"

Nodding his head he said. "Yes sir, not five minutes later was when that man came to the door."

"I see, they are still on the line, would you like me to have them send up whatever it was you two had ordered? Or cancel it?"

Sighing he looked over at the door just as he heard Dick shut the water off. "Just send it on up I guess, Dick was the one that decided."

"Ok, and Conner..." Kneeling down in front of the teen he put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I am very proud of you today. Thank you for what you did."

Raising up to sit on his knees he told Bruce. "I would hope you would do the same for me if our roles were reversed…"

Bruce knew how the outcome of the reversed situations would have worked out, but he understood what the boy meant.

When Bruce didn't return to the phone Alfred peaked around the corner and smiled when he saw the interaction between Bruce and Conner. He went ahead and gave the front desk the answer about room service.

Bruce studied the boy for a moment before saying. "How are you doing with all of this? In just a matter of weeks, your life has changed dramatically."

Sitting back down Conner told him. "I guess I'm OK with it, it's all strange… do you think Clark is still watching me?"

"He shouldn't be, but then again he is just as stubborn as I am, there are times I wonder if the two of us aren't related!"

Looking at the mud that got on his jeans he asked. "Do you regret taking me with you?"

Giving the teen a grin he told him. "No, I am happy you are here with us. I know Dick is happy to have someone around."

They grew quiet for the longest time before Conner asked quietly. "Did you ever think of having a family before?"

"How do you mean?"

"Like having a wife and kids… you know the stuff I have seen on TV."

Joining Conner along the wall Bruce told him honestly. "No, actually. In fact just before Haley's Circus came to town I had been in an interview with a reporter… she asked me that same question."

Looking out the large window across the room he stared at the darkening sky as a storm moved in. "I had just told her that I didn't have time for a family… That my work came first."

He grew silent for several moments, Dick opened the door and saw the two sitting there. He had heard the entire conversation, he wasn't angry or sad. He knew about that interview, and what was said. He simply told Conner.

"It's your turn." And went to find Alfred. Conner watched him go and turned to Bruce. "He's not mad, is he? We are close enough to the door..."

"He knows already, he read the newspaper when he came to live with me. But I know what you're thinking 'why take in Dick if you didn't have time for a family', well to be quite honest CPS just about didn't let him. Not after what I had said months before. I had to prove myself, I had to adjust my lifestyle and change my ways if I wanted to become a father."

Looking at the doorway that he had seen Dick disappear to he said. "Seems like you did just fine."

"Not at first I didn't… I was obsessed with finding Tony Zucco for him. I didn't want the Grayson's killer to remain at large like what happened with my parents. I was so obsessed that I had completely ignored Dick, for weeks. Then once he found out I was Batman he also found out I was tracking Zucco. He followed me one night to the circus where I tracked Zucco down I almost lost him that night... Zucco could have killed him by the time I got free."

"Were you ever asked if you regret taking him in? After all the trouble you went through?"

Bruce watched as Dick came back into the room and sat on the chest that was in front of the bed facing the two. They stared into each other's eyes for several seconds before Bruce answered Conner.

"Not a single day goes by do I regret taking him in. I couldn't have asked for a better son like him. But I wish I could have more children than just him… I know growing up in the Manor gets lonely. I've been there, I wish I had, had a sibling or two to hang out with."

Dick huffed a little with humor as he said. "It's not lonely, I have Alfred."

"Someone your own age Dick."

Dick smiled mischievously and told his father. "I have Wally, and now Conner."

"I don't let Wallace come over nearly as often," Bruce told him firmly.

"True, But you will let Conner now right?" Dick asked expectantly.

Conner got up and walked into the bathroom shutting the door behind him. Both father and son grew quiet for a moment.

Dick noticed the look Bruce was giving the closed door. "Your thinking about it aren't you?"

Looking at his son he asked. "What do you mean?"

"You're thinking of keeping him."

Bruce stood up and sat on the foot of the bed beside Dick who was still on the chest. "Conner you mean?"

"Who else would I be talking about?"

"Would you mind? Having a brother that is?" Bruce noticed Dick look down at the tan carpet and was silent for several moments.

"No." He said after several minutes had gone by. Bruce knew that Conner had been listening by the sound of the shower just being turned on after Dick said his answer.

"No, I wouldn't mind Bruce… but… would Clark mind? Would he put up a fight?"

"That I doubt. He's made no move to be in the kid's life so far. The only time I saw them get along was when they helped each other fix the window in my study."

Dick smiled and told Bruce. "So the next mission after this one… to make me and Conner brothers!"

Bruce laughed as Dick jumped up after his statement and threw his fists in the air with excitement.

"Sounds like a plan to me son, sounds like a plan."


	10. End of Madd Hatter

A little while later found Dick and Bruce hovering over the computer going over files on the Madd Hatter as well as bank records. Conner and Alfred were chatting idly at a table not far away eating, Conner never felt so welcomed as he did at this moment. He felt like he belonged here, he knew if he had to he would return to the Mountain but he really hoped he could stay at Wayne Manor. He was growing so attached to Alfred, Bruce, and Dick. They made him feel useful and wanted.

Conner would often think about the Cadmus mission, he often wondered what life would have been like if Dick had not disobeyed orders that day and lead a team there. But he was grateful that Dick, Wally, Aqualad, and M'Gann came to his rescue.

His phone buzzed and he got it out of his pocket, it was M'Gann.

 _M'Gann: Hey, how's the trip going?_

Smiling Conner could feel his face heating up as he text back.

 _Conner: Good, we found the guy, but I think Law Enforcement is going to help out now._

 _M'Gann: So when are you coming back? Or is Batman going to keep you around a little while?_

Conner thought about the earlier conversation he overheard Bruce and Dick have… He didn't know if they were really serious or not about keeping him. All M'Gann and the rest of the team knew was he was on a mission with Batman and Robin out of the country. He hadn't told anyone they were back. He wasn't even sure how much information he should actually be sharing with the team.

 _Conner: Not sure, Batman is busy right now looking over some things._

 _M'Gann: What kind of mission are you on anyway?_

 _Conner: I can't tell you that, Batman's orders. You know how strict he is about things like missions if he wanted the entire team to know he would have told all of us._

 _M'Gann: So what is your role in all of this anyway?_

 _Conner: I have to play the part of Robin's brother. It's been fun actually._

Bruce noticed Conner typing away on his phone when he looked up. "So who are you talking to? That's quite a smile on your face."

Conner looked up and meet Bruce's eyes. "M'Gann text me, she wants to know when we will be back. I just told her I wasn't sure at this point."

Dick chuckled and tried hard to compose himself while he was typing away on the computer. He knew the crush Conner had on M'Gann was a strong one and he teased them regularly, but he felt it wasn't a good thing to do in front of Bruce.

His phone buzzed again, looking down he told them both. "The team says hi."

Dick looked up and told Conner. "Tell them I said hi back. I haven't heard from Wally since the other day when we were in Rome."

Bruce chuckled and looked back at the computer, he was aware of the growing closeness between Miss Martian and Conner. So it was no surprise that she contacted him.

"Is this the first time she has contacted you?" He asked curiously.

"No, she contacted me when we were still back at the Manor, I told her to wait about a week before contacting me again since I didn't know how busy we were going to be."

Dick looked at the calendar that was on the computer and then said quickly. "Very punctual isn't she. It's been a week since we left."

Alfred looked up from his paper and told them. "I say, it's not every day that a young person is actually on time for something. So does Master Conner plan on introducing the young lady anytime soon?"

Dick scoffed and told him. "Not if Batman has anything to say about it. M'Gann only knows us as Batman and Robin and you as Agent A. She doesn't know our identities."

Conner looked over at Bruce who was giving Dick a dirty look. "Can she come over some time Bruce? Can she learn your identities?"

Bruce softened his face and told him. "We will see. Didn't you say something in one of the team meetings about a mole among your team?"

Dick looked up at his father. "Yea we did, but we can't pinpoint who it would be. I don't think it's M'Gann though. Aqualad thinks it's Roy but I doubt that either. It's hard to tell who it is to be quite honest. It's going to be a while till we come up with an answer to that."

Bruce looked between the boys and told them. "Until we know for sure who the mole is on the team, no one else is to learn our identities. I'm sorry Conner but it's for everyone's own safety. There is a Zeta tube that runs in the Batcave if you want to use it to go visit her. I won't stop you, just tell me where you're going."

Nodding Conner told him. "Sounds fair, I can live with that."

"Good."

Dick jumped a little in his seat and said. "Bruce! I found something!"

Looking back at the computer screen he saw a map with a red dot to the far left of the screen. "That's weird… that's on the edge of the city by the docks?"

Conner got up and walked over and looked over their shoulders. "What did you find?"

"When Hatter wasn't looking I slipped a tracking bug on him," Dick told him easily.

Frowning Conner asked. "When did you have time to do that? You were never close enough to him?"

Looking up at his friend he told him. "On the contrary, I was, when he was at the door. Remember when I was texting Bruce? Well in the drawer I had stashed some tracking bugs that I had been keeping in my pocket earlier. I took one out when even you weren't looking and stuck it in Hatter's pocket when he tried to grab me before we ran out."

Bruce patted him on the back and told him. "Good work, so tonight he will get a little visit from Batman, Robin, and Superboy."

Frowning Dick looked up at him. "But we didn't bring our costumes..." Then looked at Alfred. "Did we?"

Alfred gave him a sly grin and told him. "Yes Master Dick, your costumes were packed in a special luggage bag that is in the closet."

"How are we going to get out of here without being seen?" Conner asked worriedly.

Bruce grinned at him. "We can do it, Dick and I have done this before. No one will see us."

Conner had to trust that they knew what they were doing, his phone buzzed again. Looking back at it he saw M'Gann had texted him again.

 _M'Gann: Hey did you get called away?_

 _Conner: Yes, Batman needs me, sorry if you don't hear from me until tomorrow._

 _M'Gann: I understand, don't let him work you too hard._

Conner rolled his eyes at that and typed back.

 _Conner: Not any more than normal._

Bruce had caught a glimpse of the last part of the message. "So I work you too hard?"

Freezing in his spot Conner told him. "Well no but I… uh..."

Putting a hand on the boy's shoulder he said. "Relax Conner, I was only joking."

Dick chuckled and told Conner. "Yeah, welcome to Bruce Wayne's sense of humor, where it's as dry as the desert."

Bruce playfully swatted him and said. "Hey, I can be funny."

"Yeah, as the Joker!"

Bruce playfully ruffled Dick's hair making it stick up every which way.

"Oh yeah? Who's Mr. Funny man now?" Bruce joked back.

Conner gave a slight grin to the playful banter between father and son. He hoped one day, soon in fact, that he would be able to have playful conversations such as these with them too.

* * *

Later that evening the trio were getting ready for the takedown, Bruce had called ahead and told the NYPD what they were doing so there wouldn't be any surprise when they saw the three. He explained since Madd Hatter was a Gotham City villain that Batman and his boys should be the ones to get them and bring them to the station. They agreed and called ahead to Commissioner Gordon that they were going to transfer Hatter the following day to his department.

Once everything was set up they were ready to roll, Bruce used a remote control to call the Batmobile to their location and stay hidden in an alley about three blocks from the hotel. Once at the vehicle, Batman told his boys.

"Superboy, you will not use a grapple gun this time, I think you have gotten better at your landings so it should be alright for you to use your high jumping abilities. Robin, you will run a distraction once we are at the docks, Superboy you will go to the roof, a skylight is up there. I want you to watch Hatter and keep look out for any trouble. I will go straight in through the side entrance when I give you two the signal I want you both to attack."

"Roger that Batman," Conner told him firmly. Robin nodded in agreement.

They all climbed into the Batmobile and speed off into the dead of night towards the docks. The city may look like Gotham but it was set up differently, Batman moved through town with the GPS tracker to the docks. Once there they split up to their assignments. Conner made a perfectly silent landing on the roof of the warehouse. Dusting the snow off the window he looked threw the skylight he saw the Madd Hatter below talking to several men, using his ear piece he spoke softly.

"Batman, there are about ten people inside including Madd Hatter, they are all armed. They have several large bags filled with cash I can hear them talking about how they are going to build a bomb to take down Wayne Enterprise, one building in New York and the other in Gotham. They needed the money to buy a ticket out of the country and get new identities along with weapons and some other stuff."

"Roger that Superboy, I am moving in now, hold your position. Robin go around back and cause a distraction to get them away from the main room."

After a moment they both heard. "On it!" As Robin took off around back.

Robin crept behind the building quietly and looked through the window, unlike the last time Robin had to run distraction this would go easier since Madd Hatter wasn't known for arming doors or windows with bombs unless it was at the place he planned on planting them. He lifted the window silently and leaned inside, along one wall he saw numerous boxes and crates. Along the other wall was a lot of large shelves that held huge crates on them. He could hear Hatter talking in the next room and crept slowly towards the shelves, climbing up on the unevenly stacked crates he got to the top near the rafters.

Taking out a small smoke bomb he threw it at the half-closed door that leads to where Hatter and his goons were at. It let out a just enough noise that the talking stopped and footsteps came running in his direction. Looking up at the skylight he gave Superboy a thumbs up.

Seeing his cue Superboy told Batman that Robin was all set and the distraction was in check. Superboy watched from above as Batman rushed into the building. He was glad that the skylight extended to both rooms so he could keep an eye on both Batman and Robin. Once Batman was inside he gave the all clear for Superboy to enter, opening the skylight window he slipped in quietly and landed beside Batman.

"Good work Superboy."

"Hey! Who invited you!" A large, over-muscled man shouted as he came from the back room. Turning he shouted. "Hey, Boss! Bats is here! And he brought Sups Junior with him!"

Madd Hatter raced into the room and saw Batman and Superboy. "Well, what's this? Decide to leave Bird Boy at home this time?"

A smile spread across Robin's face as he leaped from his perch on the crate he was on and landed on one of the goons. "Guess again!"

The large man threw Robin off of him only for the young boy to flip in the air and land next to Batman.

"Ready when you are."

Madd Hatter looked at the three and shouted. "Alright boys, Get em!"

10 against 3 weren't very good odds but they were when you had Superboy on your team. It didn't take the three long to take the men down. Just as Batman and his boys were tying up Madd Hatter and getting all the evidence gathered up the NYPD showed up.

Batman had the two teens stand off to the side while he was speaking to the Police Chief, Robin was used to this routine. Superboy whispered to him.

"What about all that evidence you dug up from bank accounts? Can't they use that?"

Robin smiled at him and replied. "Already done, I e-mailed all of that to Commissioner Gordon earlier. He has all the paper evidence, the physical evidence is the money and other materials here in the warehouse."

One of the officers on duty stopped by the boys and said. "You know, if I didn't know any better I swear you twos was related."

Robin laughed and told him. "Nah, we are just good friends, thanks for helping us out."

The young man told him kindly. "I think it's us who should be thanking you, I wonder if Bruce Wayne knows these guys have been captured?"

Superboy looked worriedly at Robin before the younger boy said easily. "Batman will contact him."

A gruff voice could be heard over top all the noise in the warehouse. "Robin. Superboy. Come on let's go."

The officer frowned for a minute and asked. "Say… you any relation to Superman?"

Superboy shrugged and followed Robin out of the building and to the waiting Batmobile. Robin hopped in the front seat while Superboy took the back.

"That was awesome! I hope we can do this more often!"

Batman chuckled and looked at the time on the dash, with as much energy that Robin was showing, he knew the boy wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. "Tell you what boys, how about we take a drive around the city and look at the Christmas lights. Robin you have been here before but Superboy hasn't."

"Sounds like a plan to me! You're gonna love it!"

Batman got a lot of looks and waves as he drove through downtown New York, after almost an hour of driving Robin's energy left him and he fell asleep in his seat. Driving to the secluded place where he had the Batmobile hidden before he woke Robin and they changed clothes again.

* * *

Climbing the fire escape Bruce used the remote again to send the Batmobile back to Gotham on autopilot. They could hear the roar of the engine from three blocks away as it started back up. Conner opened the door to the room and saw a dim light by a chair where Alfred was sitting reading.

Alfred smiled when he saw the three return. "Ah welcome back sir, I trust that everything is in order?"

Bruce walked past a half awake Dick and Conner who was pleased with how the evening went. "Yes, Madd Hatter will be transferred to Arkham tomorrow morning."

"Very good sir, would you young gentlemen wish to have a snack before retiring for the night? I had a batch of cookies and some milk delivered just a short while ago." Alfred told them.

Dick smiled and told him. "Of course!"

Conner shook his head. "No thank you, I think I might just drink some milk and then go to bed."

"Very well young sir, Master Bruce, can I get you anything?"

"I could use a cookie or two, but first I am going to shower then I will join the boys."

Bowing slightly Alfred told him. "Very well sir."

Dick and Conner changed into pajamas and met back at the small table with a silver platter of cookies and a pitcher of milk sitting on top of ice in a bucket. Dick picked up three cookies and put them on a plate, he munched happily away on it while Conner looked thoughtfully out the window.

"What's on your mind?"

Conner shrugged and kept looking out the window remaining silent.

"You mad about something?"

Again Conner didn't speak only body movements, this time he shook his head. The dim light that sat at the end of the table gave an eerie glow around the young superhero.

"You worried about something?"

Sighing Conner finally spoke. "You don't think I have to go back now do you? To the Mountain?"

"I wouldn't think so, but Bruce said it was up to you if you wanted to go back or not. He's not going to force you to do anything."

Conner went silent again, he took a long drink of milk before looking directly at Dick. "Was he serious earlier? About adopting me?"

Nodding Dick told him. "Yeah, he's been thinking about it this entire time. It was part of why he took you along with us."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he knew we got along at the Mountain, and as a team. But he wanted to see how we got along one on one. When Wally's around I will admit I ignore most people and pay all my attention to him, so that's another reason why. Bruce is tired of the way Superman is treating you, he can't get it through his thick skull that ignoring you is a bad idea."

"You knew about all of this?"

Shaking his head he told Conner. "No, not all of it. But it makes perfect sense if you stop and think about it. Yeah, I am lonely at the Manor, but he knows I have friends at the Mountain, but only at the Mountain. As Dick Grayson, I have no friends. He's hoping to change that, and soon."

Conner gave him a weak smile and then asked. "How is Clark going to feel about all of this? I mean, I know he's not exactly protective of me, but he also doesn't like me being out of his sight for long."

Bruce heard Conner's question as he re-entered the room. "Good question Conner, I am going to pay him a visit in a few days and bring it up to him."

Taking a seat he looked between the boys. "Don't worry, we will figure something out."

There were only a couple of cookies left, Dick playfully reached for the last two when Bruce swatted his hands away and told him. "Don't think so Boy Wonder."

Laughing Dick grabbed one anyway and pretended to put it in his mouth.

"Hey!" Bruce grabbed it and sent crumbs flying all over the table. Conner couldn't help but grin at the two playing around. He had never seen this side of the older man outside of the Mountain, except since he's been with them this past week.

Could he really imagine staying with them permanently? Could he really be someone's son? He hoped he would find the answers to his questions soon.

* * *

 **A/N:** Reactions? I had someone on Facebook request that M'Gann check in on Conner. :) Ask and you shall receive.


	11. Bruce's plan of action

**Note:** For this story only I have Dinah's daytime occupation be a part-time social worker/counselor. I do not know her real occupation so I am making one up. Since she's a superhero on the side I figured why not make her a social worker? She's helping people, and that's what hero's do.

* * *

It had been a few days since Madd Hatter was sent back to Arkham, after spending a couple days in New York going over the sights they were on their way back to Wayne Manor. Conner sat staring out the window of the limo as they drove through the country on the outskirts of Gotham City. The view was incredible, the snow storm two nights ago left the ground covered in a white blanket. Dick was texting away to Wally about their mission while Bruce was texting Lucius about business and Conner was lost in thought.

"Keep staring like that and you might fry something, or you will melt the snow." Dick joked from where he was sitting across from him.

Looking up Conner told him. "I don't have heat vision."

"It was a joke, Conner," Dick told him lightly.

Dick noticed the worry in the taller boys eyes and asked. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing..." Conner told him softly.

"Liar, I can see something's bothering you. Talk to me." Dick encouraged.

Conner shrugged and turned away from Dick, Bruce noticed the interaction and asked. "Conner, if you are worried about Superman's reaction to how long you have been out of contact, don't. Besides, he knows you're with me."

Shrugging he continued to look out the window. Bruce shared a look with Dick before saying. "Alfred, let's go out for lunch instead of straight home."

Alfred looked at him in the mirror and nodded. "Very well sir. Any place in particular?"

"No, you can pick this time."

"Very well sir."

As they drove Bruce looked out the window and started thinking about the future of his family. Glancing over at Dick then at Conner he couldn't help but wonder how Clark really would feel about adding Conner to the bat family? _I wonder if he would be angry with me or happy? I really need to talk to him, without a listening ear._

"Boys, when we get home, I need you two to go to the Mountain for a while. Don't worry no one's in trouble, I need to talk to Clark about somethings and I don't want anyone overhearing us."

Conner knew he was hinting at how the two had eavesdropped that couple of times they got caught. Dick nodded and told his father. "OK. What's it about?"

"You will know soon enough."

They pulled up to the restaurant and went on inside to eat. Throughout the meal, Conner and Dick talked quietly among each other as Bruce text Clark and asked him to meet him at the Manor in his study.

* * *

Once at the Manor Conner and Dick went to the cave Dick got his sunglasses and the two went to the mountain. Bruce watched them go, he sent Alfred to the kitchen so he could have an uninterrupted meeting with Clark. Heading up to the study he felt his nerves getting the better of him for some reason.

He stepped inside his study and saw Clark sitting in an overstuffed chair reading. He looked up and gave the man a smile before saying. "I saw you guys were out eating, I didn't think you would mind if I just sat in here and waited."

Bruce sat at his desk and motioned for Clark to sit across from him. "I had some questions for you."

"We don't have eavesdroppers this time do we?"

Chuckling Bruce told him. "No, I sent the boys to the mountain."

"Wow, then this must be important if you want them out of super hearing range."

Nodding Bruce let out a sigh and asked. "What would you think of me adopting Conner?"

He got right to the point without beating around the bush.

"It doesn't bother me, it might be good for the boy. How does Dick feel about it?"

"He's fine with it, I think he likes the idea. My concern is, how do we explain his existence? With my social lifestyle, people are going to ask questions about where a second child came from."

Clark sat back in his chair and thought about that. Looking out the window he also took the time to think about the last several months that Conner's been part of the team.

Seeing his friend thinking hard he suggested. "What about we say he's an indiscretion?"

Seeing the confused look on Clark's face Bruce explained. "You could say he was created out of wedlock 17 years ago, and you didn't know about a child being born."

"But he's not my son Bruce. I keep telling you that."

"So you say, would you like to take a DNA test to confirm this? Or just keep being stubborn and in denial. Look, as soon as the legality of this is taken care of he will be out of your hair. Obviously not permanently but he won't be on the mountain any longer. Just play along with this, he's enrolled at Dick's school already so he already has some paperwork going for him."

"So who is down as his emergency contact? Or even guardian?"

"Right now Dinah, I have spoken with her and she filled out the paperwork for Conner to attend school, she even put down that she is his foster care provider along with the counselor. She has it in his paperwork that he is looking for his biological parents."

Clark groaned and told Bruce. "Fine, go that route. Have Dinah find me and drop the ball about him being my son. But you have to be present or it won't work, I live in Metropolis, you live in Gotham, how would you know about me having a kid."

"Sounds fair. But Clark, don't be an ass about this."

Standing up Clark told his old friend. "I won't be."

Leaving the study Clark flew out the front door and back to Metropolis. Bruce texts Dick and told him to come back, with Conner. Along with Dinah. He knew her training time and she should be wrapping up with it just about now.

Moments later three figures came through the clock, he smiled at Dinah and said. "Remember how you have it in Conner's school records that you are his foster parent?"

As the clock closed behind her she answered. "Yes, why?"

Bruce smiled wide as he motioned for her to take a seat and told the boys to excuse them.

Watching them leave Bruce told his friend. "I have a plan that will guarantee I will get to adopt Conner, legally and permanently."

Dick and Conner heard that so they went up to the game room and put headphones on to play a game, they didn't feel like getting caught eavesdropping again.

* * *

Two days after Bruce and Dinah went over the plan of action Clark called Bruce for an interview for the Wayne Enterprise embezzlement. It made perfect sense, this had to be public much to Clark's dislike.

Clark was in the middle of asking Bruce a question when the phone rang at his desk. He picked up on the third ring, he listened to the caller after greeting them. He got an angry look on his face. Jimmy was holding the camera for the live feed when Clark jumped up and slammed his hand down hard enough to crack the wood.

"What! How can you be sure! I don't have any kids."

There was a pause as Clark forgot about the people around him and concentrated on the caller. "I don't remember anyone by that name. Are you sure you have the right person? Yeah, I can do that, I am in the middle of an interview right now. Come down here if you're so sure he's mine."

Bruce held back a laugh as he saw Jimmy point the camera at Clark. This was going to be good, they had brought Conner into the conversation in his study the day before to discuss the plan for the following day. He agreed, and Bruce swore he saw a smile come over his face when he mentioned this would probably tick Clark off.

After Clark slammed the phone down he tried not to glare at Bruce, but rather turned to Jimmy. "Get that thing out of my face and let's finish this. You had better not have been recording that."

Jimmy paled and did as told, Clark leaned over his desk and said to Bruce in his ear. "We will talk about this later."

Bruce chuckled with a smug look on his face and answered Clark's questions. He could hear the anger in his friend's voice as he spoke. Bruce looked at his watch and told them that school was almost out for winter break, he needed to get going soon and pick him up. Conner didn't attend due to his and Dinah's plan of action.

As soon as the camera was turned off Clark said firmly. "Bruce, I'd like to see you in the conference room for a moment."

Clark didn't wait around for a reply as he stormed off to the back of the office. Bruce told Jimmy. "Good job at recording that."

Jimmy laughed and said. "No problem, and thanks for helping me out Mr. Wayne."

Winking at the young intern he said. "You're welcome kid."

Walking to the conference room he took a seat by the window while Clark slammed the door shut and then took a seat near his friend. "We didn't agree to that! Not live!"

"Hey I said it had to be public, doesn't get much more public than that. And what did you expect by public? It would have to be live Clark, this won't work otherwise."

Clark frowned and then said. "Dinah is bringing the kid here! HERE! Bruce! I can't have my clone here at my work!"

"What's the matter boy scout? Afraid of the world finding out you have a kid you didn't know about?"

"But I do know him! That's the problem!"

Bruce stood up and loomed over Clark. "So why get upset over all of this? I told you it had to be public, you agreed. Besides what do you care? What has you so angry about this Clark? You agreed to this plan."

Clark let out a frustrated sigh and sat back in his chair looking out the window. "I guess I was caught off guard, I didn't think it would happen this soon."

Before another word could be spoken Lois poked her head in. "Clark? There's a lady here to see you? She has two officers with her along with a teenage boy."

Glancing over at Bruce Clark told her. "Send them in."

"You want me to leave?" Bruce asked as Lois closed the door.

"Hell no, you stay put." Clark shot back angrily.

"Oh, the language… what would momma Kent say?"

Rolling his eyes Clark told him. "Shut up Bruce."

Bruce chuckled and watched as Dinah, two police officers and Conner came into the room and shut the door. He knew he was going to get hell later for this but it had to be done sometime. Better now than later.

Dinah acted as though this was the first time she had ever met these men and motioned for Conner to take a seat beside her while the officers stood behind her.

"Mr. Kent I presume?" She asked innocently.

"Yes, Miss?"

"Just call me Dinah, this is your son Conner Kent. Now, I have records here stating that 16 years ago you had a child with a Jane Smith from Kansas City, Kansas."

"What were you doing so far from home back then?" Bruce asked.

"Hush, Miss Dinah, I can assure you I don't know a Jane Smith," Clark told her.

She pulled out a file from her bag and opened it. Conner looked over and saw a computer image of a woman that looked similar to himself, thanks to modern day technology. Dinah took the photo out and shoved it in front of Clark. Along with a DNA test results.

"These were taken a while ago Mr. Kent, this DNA test was mandatory and court ordered. It was taken without your knowledge back when you last visited the hospital. This boy without any doubt is your son, the officers are here as my witnesses that I am bringing him here to be placed in your custody."

Clark decided to play along with this charade and said. "Why can't he just go back to his mother?"

"Because she's dead Mr. Kent, you are his only living relative. It's taken us a couple of years to find you."

One of the officers stepped forward and asked Dinah. "Are you sure you want a stranger in here while you go over these papers?"

Clark clenched his teeth and said. "It's fine, he's an old friend of mine."

The second officer looked at him and said. "Oh I know you, you're Billionaire Bruce Wayne! I remember reading about you adopting that kid from the circus some years back."

"Yes, I did," Bruce replied back. He was already in hot water with Clark, the last thing he needed was to get the man so mad he wouldn't cooperate.

Dinah looked seriously at Clark and asked. "So you're saying you do not want custody of Conner?"

Clark swallowed hard before saying weakly. "Yes..." He really didn't want to be discussing this in front of Conner.

"You are aware of where he will have to go once you give up your parental rights?"

Shaking his head Clark told her. "No, enlighten me."

"He will go to the Wayne Foundation Boys Home For Orphans if you do not take him today, and will remain there until someone adopts him or when he ages out of the system."

Conner stared at Clark, waiting for a reply. _This is kind of fun, torturing Clark like this._

Clark couldn't meet Conner's eyes as he said. "Will they take good care of him there?"

Bruce spoke up. "Not necessarily, from what I remember when I adopted Richard, he was sent there before they transferred him to the Juvenal Detention Center."

Clark looked over at Bruce then back to Dinah, he knew what they were trying to do… and it was working. "Fine, I will take temporary custody of him until I can find a suitable family to take him."

"Judging by how you spoke to me on the phone, and how temperamental you were moments ago, are you sure you can care for him?" Dinah asked.

Bruce spoke up again. "How about I take him in? Clark you know I took Richard in and look at how well he's doing."

Letting out a sigh of frustration Clark ran a hand through his hair and then said. "That's fine, I just want this over with as soon as possible."

Smiling Dinah pushed a paper in Bruce's direction. "This is a temporary guardian application, I just need you to fill this out and sign it Mr. Wayne and you can take him with you."

Smiling he reached for the paper and quickly filled it out.

Conner sat there watching them, he couldn't help but notice the look on Clark's face. _He actually looks nervous about this? Or am I reading him wrong? I hope this doesn't backfire on us. Bruce is doing some good acting pretending he doesn't know us._

Bruce looked up to meet Conner's eyes, he knew this was legit papers giving him temporary custody of Conner. Dinah actually was a Social Worker/Counselor in part of her day job. She just wasn't as over booked as most of them would be since she was part time.

As he signed the document he felt more confident about Conner joining his family. Clark signed next giving up his rights to being a parent and placing Conner officially up for adoption.

Bruce cleared his throat after a few moments and asked. "So if I choose to keep Conner permanently? Does it work differently than when I adopted Richard?"

"Since there is still a living relative, yes, it is different. You will both appear in family court for the adoption proceedings. It will take several months to a year to get everything in line and done for." Dinah told them.

"But if for any reason Clark changes his mind, it doesn't matter how far into the adoption proceedings we get, you can and most likely will lose the custody battle," Dinah added.

Bruce wasn't worried, from what he understood Clark didn't want anything to do with keeping Conner what so ever. Dinah smiled at Clark as he squirmed under her scrutinizing eye, she was going to love this to the very end it had been a while since she had to deal with a custody battle.

Suddenly Bruce's phone began to ring. Standing up he answered it and walked to the far side of the room. Groaning he walked back over to the group. "I have to go over to Wayne Enterprise here in Metropolis before picking up my son from school, Miss Dinah, if you will follow me I will get his things from your vehicle and be on my way."

Smiling at him Dinah stood up along with Conner and Clark. "Sounds good, good day to you Mr. Kent. I will be in touch."

Dinah and the two officers left the office, Clark turned a murderous eye to Bruce. "You had better know what you are doing."

Chuckling he guided Conner to the door. "Oh I do Clark, I definitely do."

The two walked out of the conference room and to the elevator. Once alone Conner spoke up. "So how did we do?"

"You threw Clark for a loop, he had no idea I was planning this so quickly, he thought I was going to wait until after the holidays."

"So I really am in the foster care system?"

Nodding as they made it to the first floor Bruce motioned for him to leave first. As they walked across the spacious lobby he said. "Yes you are, Dinah made this possible months ago when you started attending Dick's school. She really is your social worker."

They fell into a comfortable silence as they walked out the main door, he saw Dinah standing with the empty suitcase for Conner. It was an act seeing as Conner's clothes were at the Manor already.

"So Dick didn't get to miss school today?" Dinah asked as the two walked up to her.

"Nope, he wanted to come but I insisted that he go to school. But I really do have to go pick him up, they have an early dismissal because of Christmas Break. If I hurry I can get back just in time for the bell to ring."

Dinah looked over at the two officers pulling away from the curb. "Don't say that too loud. Metropolis is almost an hour away from Gotham."

"I don't speed Dinah, I know a shortcut. Clark showed it to me years ago, or rather I followed him because he was flying and giving me directions."

"Ok, be safe Bruce. I will give you a call on Monday or sooner if the application goes through."

"I hope for sooner, it's not like CPS doesn't know I haven't gone through this before. This time it should be easier, though."

Dinah told him honestly. "No adoption is a walk in the park Bruce, this is only the first step. Clark won't fight this, I can already tell he's ready for it to be over. So hopefully by the end of winter or beginning of spring, you will have two sons."

"Let's hope for the best," Bruce told her as he opened the car door for her, she looked up at him from the driver's seat and said. "And prepare for the worst."

"What could possibly go wrong?" Bruce asked with a frown forming on his face.

Dinah closed her door and rolled her window down after starting the car. "Clark could change his mind."

"I very much doubt that," Bruce told her with some humor in his voice.

Looking up at him with a grim expression she said. "You never know Bruce, I have seen cases like this in the past. The biological parent occasionally changes their mind for whatever reason, you need to be prepared for that. I know it's a slim to none chance, but in the coming weeks we don't know what will happen."

She rolled her window up then and drove off up the street, Bruce and Conner met each others' eyes. Conner asked carefully. "You think Clark will change his mind?"

Shaking his head he leads Conner to the side parking lot where his car was. "No. But if he does I will fight to the bitter end. IF it comes down to it we will let you decide where you want to live."

Nodding his head as he climbed into the front seat he went silent, thinking about what just took place. He just hoped nothing would happen that _would_ change Clark's mind. _Or do I want him to change his mind? Bruce has been the father Clark has not been for so long now. DO I want Clark as my father or Bruce?_

"I thought you had to go to work?" Conner asked softly as they passed by Wayne Enterprise.

Shaking his head Bruce told him. "I had text Dick to call my phone as a distraction. Clark needed to talk without me beside him."

Driving the back roads of Metropolis Conner thought about everything that had been happening in the past several months, about the trip he took with Bruce and Dick. His stay at the Manor, he had a lot to think about. He just hoped that this all worked out in the end, otherwise his world would fall completely apart.

* * *

A/N: Reactions?


	12. Of adventures and Missed Calls

It had been a week since Bruce had filled out the paperwork for temporary custody of Conner, he had not heard back from CPS. Dinah had told him that Monday that they were assigning him a different Caseworker. She nor he were too thrilled about that situation. Bruce was hoping this would be a quick and easy process, but apparently, fiat has other things planned for him.

Bruce was sitting in the Batcave looking over some files when Dick came down the steps. "Hey Bruce, can Conner and I explore the cave? He wanted me to show him around down here a while back but we were kind of busy."

Turning in his seat Dick saw the look on Bruce's face. "I know, don't go down any caverns I haven't explored myself, and stick to the lit paths that you created."

"Good, then yes you may go exploring," Bruce told him as he turned back around in his seat.

"Can I show him where that hole is that you fell down when you were a kid?"

Alfred came out of the costume room after putting the clean costumes back up in their proper places. "Master Dick, need I remind you that it is 'may I' not 'can I' when asking for permission. Honestly children these days have no manners."

Bruce chuckled as Dick rolled his eyes. "May I Bruce?"

Laughing he said. "Yes, you may Dick. Just remember to keep your phone on you in case you do happen to get lost. This way I can find you."

"Yes, sir." With that, he raced back up the stairs.

Bruce chuckled at the boy's excitement and turned to Alfred. "Have you noticed a change in Dick in the last few weeks?"

Nodding Alfred told him. "I have Master Bruce, it seems as though he's… happier now."

"It's weird Alfred, for the past couple of years he's had Wallace over and the two are not nearly as energetic as he is with Conner."

Alfred got an annoyed look on his face at the mention of Dick's best friend. "It could be because Master Wallace has more energy than anyone on Earth sir. Master Dick has a hard time keeping up with him. But Master Conner is new to all of this, and they seemed to have formed a bond."

Bruce nodded and looked at the device he had been working on the last couple of days. With any luck, it would mimic the Red Sun that Conner would need to control his powers while at the Manor. There were still a few things he needed to pull it off completely but given time he would complete it.

* * *

Dick raced back up the stairs and to the study where Conner was waiting. "Bruce agreed."

"So how far does the Batcave go?"

"Pretty far, come on," Dick told him waving for the older boy to follow him.

They headed back down to the Batcave, just as they got to the bottom step Bruce told them without looking over.

"Dick set your alarm on your phone for one hour, that is when I want you two back here. If you're not back, I'm coming to find you."

Dick pulled his phone out and set the alarm and told Bruce. "Got it, and I also got a couple of flashlights too. For the darker tunnels, I know about."

Bruce gave them a grin and said. "Alright, you two have fun."

He turned to watch them as they slid down the pole to the next level of the cave, the opening on the lower level was near the dock where the boat was parked. He did notice that Dick had a light jacket on, the boy knew that he would have made him go back and put one on. Turning back to the computer he typed away and kept thinking about what the future held.

* * *

Dick lead Conner to the opening and told him. "This stretches on for miles, and there are a lot of tunnels that go off the main path. Bruce has taken me down here several times."

Conner followed Dick and could feel the air getting cooler as they went down the dimly lit tunnel. He could hear light squeaking coming from above their heads, he knew it had to be the occupants of the cave itself. Dick had yet to turn his flashlight on. Dick motioned for Conner to stop after they had been walking for a short time and came to an intersection.

"Down this tunnel is the one that Clark scared the crap out of Bruce by hovering just below the edge of the cliff. Bruce put a couple of boards up so I wouldn't get turned around and end up falling over the edge." Dick told him pointing to their right.

"Have you ever gotten lost in here before?"

"No, turned around yes, but never lost. I have always managed to find my way back, I carry my tracker on me at all times. I know I can be careless sometimes but I don't fool around in this cave. It really can be dangerous."

"Your Robin tracker?"

"Yes, it's also how Bruce can find me if I am not back on time."

Conner was silent for a moment before asking. "Where does the path go to the left?"

"It splits off into 6 different tunnels out of all of them one I can't go down because the ceiling is too low for Bruce to get to me if I get into trouble. I have crawled down it before and got into big trouble when Bruce found out. I wasn't allowed to go down to the tunnels for weeks."

Conner stopped walking for a moment and asked. "Why would go deliberately go down there if you knew you weren't supposed to?"

Dick shrugged and told him. "I don't know… I was going through a phase where I was testing his patience. I think I was 9 then maybe 10. I hadn't been Robin for very long, he actually threatened to take Robin away from me if I ever pulled a dangerous stunt like that again."

"What made it so dangerous?" Conner asked as they went down yet another tunnel.

Dick stopped and turned to look up at his friend. "The tunnel ceiling gets lower the further down you get, once you get past one part there is an opening that takes you straight up to a short ledge. Upon that ledge is another cavern altogether. It opens up to a small chamber that's about as big as one of the Wayne Manor bedrooms. It's pitch black in there and it reeks of guano."

"What is guano?" Conner asked with a look on his face.

Dick chuckled and told him. "Bat poop. Anyway, I flipped on my flashlight and when I did I started a huge swarm of bats in there. They knocked me off the small ledge and I fell down into the tunnel. Bruce and Alfred had to get me out of there, Alfred is smaller than Bruce and managed to crawl ahead of him and pick me up and hand me off to Bruce. Yea I was knocked out if you can't tell. I had a bad concussion, and was bed bound for a few days."

Conner raised his eyebrows but made no comment for a moment or two. They started walking again and Dick told him.

"We are almost there."

"Where?"

"When Bruce's parents were murdered, he was upset obviously and ran away from the funeral that was held at the cemetery not far from here. Anyway, it was dark and raining. He slipped and fell into a hole in the ground. Little did he know when he fell that he would find the future Batcave. He put a cover over the hole so no one else would fall in."

They walked to a darkened spot that had more soil then rock, pointing his flashlight up he said. "This is it, this is where Bruce fell that night."

Conner looked up and saw a large flat piece of plank wood across the top of the hole. "Does it open up?"

"I don't know, I'm too short to reach it. I don't think Bruce has used it in years."

Reaching up Conner poked at the board. "It's up there pretty tight, and I barely touched it."

"I wouldn't push too hard, you never know what could happen."

Dick looked down at his phone. "We have 20 minutes before we have to be back, we better start now before the alarm goes off."

Nodding they started back, going back the way they ,Conner grabbed the back of Dick's jacket. He stood absolutely still for a moment and ignored the questioning look on Dick's face, it was a low rumble that was getting closer.

"Has there ever been a cave in?"

"No why? Do you hear something?"

"It's a rumbling noise."

"Like rocks sliding? Or water moving?"

"Not sure… But it's coming from this tunnel." Conner pointed to their left as he spoke. He kept listening as the rumbling got louder to him.

Dick tried to listen, whatever Conner was hearing was not close by. "I don't hear anything, maybe it's not close to us yet?"

They remained still, he finally could hear it too, a low rumble. He picked his phone up and saw they now had five minutes to get back. Dick decided he had to text Bruce and find out what was going on.

 _Dick: Bruce, is it thundering outside?_

After a few second he got a reply.

 _Bruce: Yes, a storm has hit, get back here on the double. That cover over by the cemetery got lose a couple weeks ago and it now floods when it rains._

 _Dick: I can swim besides it's not going to flood right away. We are on our way back, we are about 10 minutes out. Weird weather for December?  
_

 _Bruce: Ok just hurry. I agree, but no time to worry about that now.  
_

"Worry wort," Dick mumbled under his breath.

"What did he say?"

Dick looked up at his friend and told him. "Bruce says that a storm has hit, and apparently has hit hard. And what's even better is that board is loose over where he fell as a kid. And it floods."

"That's just great. This little exploration might just be a disaster. But is it normal to have a thunderstorm in December?" Conner told him.

"Nah, don't get whelmed about this. We will be fine. Yea it is weird, but not totally unheard of."

His phone buzzed. Looking down Dick saw that his father text again.

 _Bruce: Your tracker hasn't moved. Did you two run into trouble?_

 _Dick: No, I was explaining to Conner what he had heard, and answering his question about weird weather. We are moving now._

Dick put his phone in his pocket and told Conner. "Bruce is tracking us, he pretty much said if we don't move he's coming in after us."

Dick lead them back through the tunnels, Conner put his hand on Dick's shoulder stopping him at some point. "I hear something."

"Water or bats?"

"Good question, it's not the rumbling noise I heard before, but flapping… and it's coming our way."

Dick's eyes grew wide and he shouted. "Hit the deck!"

He dove for the ground just as a huge swarm of bats came flying overhead. Conner got down beside Dick and covered his head. As the bats flew by Dick saw a flashlight up ahead.

"Dick? Conner? Boys are you down here?" They could hear running footsteps as the bats turned and went down another tunnel nearby.

Bruce ran up when he saw the bats had flown off. Seeing the boys face down on the ground he asked. "Are you two OK?"

Dick was the first to stand up and dust himself off. "Yeah, what caused them to freak out like that?"

"It's the storm, like birds, bats can sense when the weather is turning very foul. And right now there is a tornado watch in effect for the area."

"A tornado? In December? Jeeze what's mother nature going to throw at us next!" Dick exclaimed.

Conner ignored Dick's comment, looked up at the ceiling and then said. "It's a good thing we are down here already then."

Nodding Bruce told him. "True, come on, Alfred said dinner's almost ready and he's bringing it down here to be safe."

* * *

Miles away in Metropolis, Clark had just gotten home from work and he saw he had a couple of messages on his answering machine. Sighing he put his jacket on the dining room chair and hit play on the service. The message made him stop in his tracks:

Lois _: Clark? It's Lois, that boy that came into work today, that was your son? Why didn't you tell me you had a son? Call me when you get this._

The second message really sent chills down his spine.

Ma: _Clark honey, why didn't you ever tell us you had a son? We are going to fly to Metropolis as soon as we can. We want to meet our grandson. Your Pa is wondering why you kept this a secret for over 16 years? See you soon honey. Love you!_

Clark wanted to hide, he knew this could complicate the adoption. To make matters worse Conner's got a new social worker. He was contacted earlier in the week about her. This was turning into a mess.

Pulling out his cell he text Bruce.

Clark: _Call me when you get the chance. Some things have come up. No, I am not changing my mind._

About 15 minutes later he got a reply.

Bruce: _Sorry, kids got hijacked by some bats in a tunnel. Can't call out at the moment, we have a tornado watch in effect._

Growling in frustration Clark typed back.

Clark: _Ma and Pa are paying me a visit._

Bruce: _And the problem with that is?_

Clark: _Conner. They want to meet Conner. I don't know if they think I have him or what the deal is. But they want to meet him._

Bruce was silent for a long spell then typed back.

Bruce: _Not seeing an issue with that. If Conner is comfortable with meeting them then it should be alright._

Clark tried to not get angry at Bruce for being logical.

Clark: _I don't want them to bond with him. That's the problem. If they bond with him then this could complicate the adoption. They think I kept him a secret from them for all this time._

Bruce: _You dug your own grave when you decided to push Conner away. Now you have to deal with the consequences of those actions. My adopting Conner won't be affected, because if I find out you lied to your parents about any part of how you have treated Conner you and I are going to have a talk. And it won't be pretty._

Clark stared at his phone for a long time, he watched the screen fade to black before looking out the window. _How am I going to explain this to them?_

* * *

Bruce stood at the base of the tunnel and looked down at his phone. _I must have hit a nerve._

After almost 15 minutes and no response, he turned to the boys who were now wrestling close to the dock by the Batboat.

"Seeing as you two have way too much energy built up inside of you, how about we take that to the training room so you don't hurt each other?"

Conner had just flipped Dick to where he was on the bottom and he was on top looked up at Bruce. "We are being careful."

"I know, but I would feel much better if you two would take the wrestling match to the mats please," Bruce told him firmly.

Dick laughed as he got up and told Conner. "You were too scared of those bats!"

Frowning he told him. "Oh really? I am not scared of a little bitty bat! Besides you were the one who shouted to 'hit the deck' and hit the ground first. I just followed your lead!"

Sticking his tough out Dick took off running to the stairs that lead to the upper level where the training mats were. Bruce was left standing there shaking his head, he knew it would be a shame to split them up now. He had noticed how much they bonded, not as friends, or teammates… but as Brothers.

* * *

Clark never replied back to Bruce, he didn't know what he could say to that statement. He knew in his heart his friend was right, he had been wrong to push Conner away. Walking to his room he put on some pajama pants and a white shirt. Laying down on his bed he thought about what he was going to say to his parents and to Lois. He knew he had to contact Bruce again later, but right now he was so confused as to how to respond to anyone at this point. He didn't want to admit he was being selfish and pig-headed about his decision to give Conner up for adoption. But he didn't want the responsibility of raising a kid. He knew Conner was 16 but, he still had so much to learn.

He laid in bed awake for hours before he heard a knock on his door, he groaned. He knew who would be knocking on his door at midnight…

Getting up he walked over to the door and opened it, he smiled grimly and said. "Hi, Ma, hi Pa."

His mother wrapped her arms around him and said. "Hi son, now where is our grandson?"

He let his parents in and helped his father with their bags he took their coats and said. "He's in Gotham City right now."

His father leaned against the counter and asked. "Why is he there? From what we heard on the news during that interview he was going to be living here?"

Shaking his head he told his father. "No Pa… look, it's late. I will explain all of this to you guys in the morning. I promise. If I need to I will call a friend of mine to stop by and help with this explanation."

Patting his son on the back he said. "Alright boy, we will buy that for now."

Clark pulled out the hid-a-bed from the couch and got some blankets. "You two can have my room, I'll sleep out here."

"You sure son?" John asked.

"Yes, you two have had a long flight and my bed is more comfortable than this sofa."

After saying goodnight to his parents. He thought even more about what he was going to say.

* * *

 **A/N:** Love all the responses I am getting with this story! Love all of you! Catcha in the next chapter! Oh and I am writing a new Young Justice story, It's a young Dick Grayson story based on his first Christmas at Wayne Manor! I will be posting it in the next couple of days. :)


	13. Family Squabbles

**A/N:** **A friend noticed some errors and let me know about them. I got them fixed. Enjoy and let me know if you guys find anymore. :)**

* * *

The smell of bacon woke Clark up the following morning, he hadn't gotten much sleep before sunrise. Rolling over he looked into his kitchen and saw his mother standing at the stove cooking breakfast. "Morning Ma."

She smiled as she flipped the bacon over. "Good morning son, oh your phone buzzed a little while ago. I didn't pry and look at the message." Frowning he got up and went to his room and picked his phone up. He saw he had a new text from Bruce.

Bruce: _Text me when you wake up, the boys and I are coming to Metropolis today. Didn't know if you wanted us to drop by so you could better explain what is going on to your parents?_

Clark thought about it for a minute then replied back.

Clark: _Give me some time to try and explain Conner first, if the conversation goes south then I will text you to come over. Are you going to be in Metropolis all day? And where are you going to be?_

Dick: _We are at Wayne Enterprise, sorry Bruce gave me his phone in case you replied back. This is Dick, he's in a meeting right now. Conner and I are in his office. We will be here till about 3 or 4 this afternoon._

Thinking for a few minutes, he told Dick.

Clark: _I have the day off today. Try and get Bruce's attention and have him either call or text me when he is available._

Dick: _Will do. He should be just about ready for a break soon. It's almost 10 and they have been in that meeting since 7. Since when do reporters get the day off?_

Grinning at that Clark told him.

Clark: _Funny Dick, please give him the message._

Dick: _Will do._

Clark put his phone in his pajama pocket and went back out to the kitchen. He had noticed his father was still sleeping so he didn't disturb him. His mother was moving on to cooking eggs now when he came out.

"So who was it on the phone dear?"

"Thought you weren't going to pry?" Clark replied quickly.

Smiling at her son she told him. "You have a lot of explaining to do son, so why don't you give me a brief version of it."

"I would like to only say it once, please wait until Pa is up and I will explain it to both of you."

Nodding her head in understanding she turned back to the stove. "Go call your pa and tell him breakfast is ready."

As he walked back to his room he stopped short near the doorway. _Wait… I have to explain this to Lois too… crap this is going to be a mess. At least she knows that I'm Superman so that makes it a little easier._

He knocked on the door frame and noticed his father start to roll over. "Hey Pa, Ma says breakfast is ready."

"Be right there son," Jonathan said as he got up.

Clark walked back to the kitchen and saw his mother setting the table, she looked up at him and said. "I sure hope you have your story straight about what you are going to tell us about our grandson."

Nodding he took a seat at the table as his mother put a glass of juice in front of him. His father came out and sat next to him. After plates of food were set on the table Jonathan asked the first question.

"So what is this boys name?"

Swallowing a bite Clark replied. "Conner, and before you ask he's 16 not 15."

At least he knew that much about the boy.

Martha took a drink of her coffee and asked her son. "Where was Conner born? Was he born in Kansas City?"

Shaking his head he took a drink of orange juice and then began to tell them. "Do you remember about a year ago when there was that explosion at Cadmus?"

Jonathan nodded and said. "Yes, I remember that those Young Justice kids went on a mission without the Justice League if I remember the story right."

"They were not a team yet. There were only three of them Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin. Anyway while they were there they discovered that the scientists there had created a super/hybrid super-clone called Project Kr. He's half human, half… Kryptonian."

Both senior Kents were silent for several moments, sharing a look Martha asked. "So who's the human side?"

"That has yet to be decided, the Justice League never found out that part since the compound was destroyed."

Jonathan looked at his son before asking. "So why isn't he with you then? He's technically your son."

Clark's mouth went dry as Bruce's words raced through his head. "Well… I… I'm not sure how to answer that."

"Surely we have taught you enough morals that you didn't turn the boy away? After all, he is your flesh and blood."

Squirming under his mother's hard stare he said softly. "Because I wasn't ready to be a father..."

Jonathan spoke next. "Clark Kent, are you telling me you turned that boy away because you weren't ready? Seriously? Do you think I was ready to be a father when your ship landed in our field? I was terrified. Your mother was ready to take you in the second she saw you but I was hesitant at first, but only at first. And what about that Wayne friend of yours? He's a single man who took in an orphan from a circus no less, I highly doubt he was really ready for parenthood either. But from what I have seen in the papers he has done a fine job at raising him."

Clark felt lower than dirt at the moment. He knew he had been a jerk and an all around horrible person. Looking up at the time it was now nearly 11. _Surely Bruce is on a break by now._

Pushing his half-eaten plate away he stood up. "Excuse me, I need to run up town and I will be right back."

Jonathan stood up as well and said. "This discussion is not over yet you know?"

"I know Pa," Clark said as he went to his room and got dressed. Coming out he left his apartment and headed towards Wayne Enterprise taking the subway.

* * *

Standing in front of the massive building he swallowed hard as he walked in the doors. The receptionist smiled up at him as he said. "Hi, I'm Clark Kent, I was wondering if Bruce Wayne is still here?"

Typing something on her computer she said. "Yes, his meeting is taking a lunch break. He's in his office. Would you like me to tell him you're here?"

"No, that's OK." He walked to the staircase and ran up the stairs, he had to burn off some of what he was feeling at the moment.

As he got closer to Bruce's office he felt sweat forming on the back of his neck. He had not lied to his parents, in fact, his Father nailed him for his behavior. Knocking on the door he heard Dick say it's open. Walking in Bruce was sitting behind his desk while the boys were eating pizza.

"Hey, Clark!" Dick said cheerfully.

Conner looked up but made no response. Bruce looked at the other man expectantly.

Bruce watched as Clark sat in a seat across from him. "Well, how'd it go?"

Letting out a frustrated sigh he said. "Still going on I'm afraid, I told them the truth Bruce. I told them about Cadmus, I didn't say Dick was there only Robin. Their questions were getting to hard to answer alone. They still want to meet him."

When Bruce still didn't speak Clark continued. "My Pa informed me I was being stupid, that he and Ma didn't have to take me in when they found me. He also threw it in my face the fact that you didn't have to take Dick in but did it anyway."

Bruce nodded in understanding and said. "I see, are you saying you're changing your mind?"

Letting out a sigh he looked back at Conner and Dick who were now watching him curiously, turning back around he said half defeated. "At this point Bruce… I don't know. I want to say no, but, then again I don't want to hurt him by taking him from you. Hurting him would hurt Dick and I can't do that. Not after the last month that he's been in your care."

Bruce nodded again and said. "You know, you can file for visitation rights or joint custody."

Frowning Clark asked. "I thought that only worked for couples?"

"No it works for adoptions too not to divulge personal information about my employees but I have an employee that recently within the last couple of years adopted a little girl. The child still has living relatives but can no longer live with her biological parents. There is joint custody between the maternal Grandparents and the adopted parents, with visitation to the biological children still living in the home.

You see the way it works, I would still have full custody of Conner, but, you would have visitation rights. You could see him either every other weekend or whatever the court decides is appropriate. This way you still have some rights to him."

Clark chewed over that possibility, he knew his parents would be angry if he gave Bruce full custody. This was their one chance at being grandparents.

"By law… can Conner decide who he wants to live with? I mean technically we both know he's under one year old but physically he's 16."

"I read in some of my father's law books about adoptions, they are outdated I'm sure but, it did say that once the child reaches a certain age they can decide. It doesn't work in some cases, I am not too sure about this one. It should but we would have to talk to a lawyer about it."

Dick stood up from where he was sitting and came to stand by the desk. "I know a kid at school who's parents divorced, she got to decide where she lived."

Bruce frowned and asked. "How old is she?"

"17, well now, but she was 15 at the time. She decided to live with her dad because her mom was being an ass to her." Dick explained. But ducked his head when Bruce gave him a stern look for the language.

Clark asked. "Do we even want to know how you know so much about that?"

"Girls talk Clark, it's kind of hard _not_ to overhear a conversation when you're less than 10 feet away and they are talking very loudly about it."

Bruce shook his head then looked back at Clark. "What do you think? You wouldn't be going against your parent's wishes, and I would have custody. You wouldn't be hurting Dick because Conner would still be under my roof."

Sitting back in his seat he thought about that. _That could work…_ _I wouldn't have responsibility for Conner so to speak. Bruce would._

Bruce could see Clark thinking it over, he noticed that Conner never came to stand near the conversation. He let out a sigh and said to Clark.

"Just think about it, give it a thought then get back to me."

Nodding his head Clark stood up. He noticed an unspoken question that was hovering on Bruce's mind. He didn't have to have the man speak to know what he wanted to ask. Going over he stood next to Conner who looked up at him. He couldn't tell if the boy was angry or just frustrated at the entire situation.

Crouching down to the boy's level he asked. "Would you like to meet them? My parents?"

Conner shrugged and picked at the cheese on his now cold slice of pizza. "I don't care." Was the soft reply.

"Conner, look at me." He waited for the teen to comply before saying. "I am not forcing you to do anything you don't want to do. If you don't want to meet them then I understand, but you have to tell me now."

Frowning Conner replied. "Thought you weren't gonna force me?"

Bruce could see the tension building and pressed the intercom. "Lucius, I am leaving the office for a while. Take over the meeting till I get back."

Without waiting for a reply he stood up and said. "Come on, Dick get your coat. We are going to Clark's apartment."

Clark looked over at Bruce and said. "What?"

"You heard me, now come on. This is crazy, you are still being stubborn about all of this." He looked down at Conner who had yet to move.

"Conner, it's not like he's taking you permanently all you're doing is meeting his folks. Come on, we will take my town car."

Conner got up and followed after them, he could feel anger building as they walked out to the car. He didn't know who to place the anger at. He knew Bruce didn't do anything wrong so he placed the blame on Clark. But he was trying to control his anger so he swallowed it down.

Clark got in front while the two boys shared the backseat. Bruce turned the heater on full blast seeing as after that storm last night the temperature dropped down into the low 30's. The drive was silent as they got closer to the apartment building. Bruce parked and turned to Clark. "You ready for this?"

Clark shook his head and said. "This is going to be hell you know that right?"

"You made this mess Clark, now it's up to you how you plan on cleaning it up. I won't turn my back on you with any of this. But so help me if people get hurt in the process of your stubborn Kryptonian ass!"

That earned a muffled chuckle from the teenagers in the backseat of the car. Bruce looked back through the mirror but didn't give them any sort of scolding look, more humor. They got out of the car and walked to the elevator that was on the far side of the parking garage.

Clark's feet felt like lead as they all marched to his apartment, pulling out his key he unlocked the door and twisted the knob. When it opened he saw his parents sitting on the couch. _Ma must have put the bed away._

"Ma, Pa." He started to say. He turned behind him and motioned as he walked through the door.

Martha and Jonathan both stood and turned towards their son expectantly. They could see he was nervous as he made a motion through the doorway.

Clark watched as Conner stood behind Bruce, he should have known the teen didn't do well around strangers. It was part of why he set the bait for Bruce to bring him back here.

Bruce walked into the apartment followed by Conner and Dick. Clark motioned to them and said. "Ma, Pa, you know Bruce Wayne, and his son Richard."

They both nodded as he took Conner's arm gently and pulled him from his hiding spot. "This is Conner."

Jonathan walked over to them with his wife close beside him. "He looks just like you Clark, hello there Conner. It's nice to meet you."

Bruce gently elbowed Conner to coax him to answer. The boy nervously put his hand out for the older man to take it. "It's nice to meet you, sir." Came the tentative greeting.

"He gets shy around strangers," Clark explained as Conner stepped back behind Bruce. There was no doubt in anyone's mind who the boy trusted more.

If Jonathan read the reaction correctly he would say that Conner trusted Bruce more, meaning he had been right earlier when he made that last comment to Clark. That would be addressed later, right now he didn't want to make the boy any more nervous than he already was.

"Conner, it's alright. Clark told us everything, we know you were created as an experiment. We don't think any less of you for it." Jonathan told him softly.

Looking up at Clark Conner slowly made his way beside Bruce rather than behind him. "Did he tell you that I am his genetic clone?"

Chuckling Jonathan told him. "He didn't have to son, we already knew when he told us about it. You see I had read in the paper a while back about Cadmus creating a clone of Superman. We didn't know who the person was or how old the person looked. We just watched for someone who looked identical to Clark to come out of the woodwork."

Conner looked nervous again as he asked. "You… you don't think I'm the enemy?"

Martha laughed and told him. "No dear, you can't help how you came into this world. Besides, if you really were supposed to be the enemy I don't think you would still be walking free. The Justice League does a good job of protecting the planet from danger."

Bruce suddenly realized that they had just told him Superman's identity, if he hadn't already known that bit of information he would have been shocked.

He watched Martha and Jonathan for the reaction when he noticed he got none he commented to Clark. "So your Superman? I never knew that."

Clark tried to hold back a laugh, knowing his friend was playing dumb. Martha looked slightly shocked at her husband and put a hand over her mouth. "Oh… Clark honey."

"It's OK Ma, he already knew. But you did reveal my identity to him, had he been an actual stranger I would be mad about that. Bruce knows how to keep a secret."

Dick chuckled and said. "I already knew too, there's not much I don't know when Bruce has a secret. I can keep one too."

Bruce looked over at the closed door and motioned for them all to take a seat around the dining room table. "Mr, and Mrs. Kent, I think it's only fair to even the playing field."

Dick looked at his father questioningly, then noticed the concerned look Clark was giving him.

Bruce continued after taking a deep breath. "I am Batman, and Dick is Robin. I really met Clark many years ago during a fight involving Kryptonite. I had saved him back then, and we had a strained relationship at first but we became friends given time."

Jonathan smiled at him and said. "Thank you for trusting us with this. Just know that we will keep the secret just as we have kept our sons. So, Conner, what is your superhero name?"

Conner spoke softly from where he stood beside Dick. "Superboy..."

Nodding approval Jonathan replied back. "Sounds reasonable. Did Clark give you that name?"

Shaking his head he looked over at Dick. "Cadmus gave me that name, they also called me Project Kr."

"It makes sense, you are the son of Superman," Martha told him.

Conner bowed his head and said in almost a whisper. "I'm not his son."

"What was that?" Jonathan asked.

Clark had heard him and said. "Well it's getting a little late, Bruce don't you have to get back to the office?"

Bruce looked at his watch and then said. "I probably should, do you boys want to stay here or go sit in my office until the end of the meeting?"

Dick could see the pleading look in Conner's eyes, he knew that the older boy didn't want to stay here even if he did. "Sit in the office."

Seeing the relief in Conner's eye Dick knew there were going to have to talk when they got back. Bruce stood up along with both boys and the Kents. Clark walked Bruce to the door and said. "Call me later."

Giving the taller man a look Bruce said. "You better believe it. It was nice seeing you again Mr. and Mrs. Kent."

He shook their hands as he walked towards the door. Dick said his goodbyes and followed along behind. Clark stopped Conner and whispered low enough for only him to hear. "I may pop by later at the Manor. We need to talk."

Conner nodded and said his goodbyes as well. Following Bruce back to the car Conner couldn't help but think about how nice Clark's parents were. Once in the car, Bruce turned to Conner. "You did good up there. How did you like meeting them?"

"They were nice." He replied absently.

Dick was silent in the backseat as he looked out the window. They drove back to Wayne Enterprise and he got out and followed the other two back upstairs to the office.

"I shouldn't be much longer boys, then how about we go out and get something to eat?"

Dick shrugged and Conner replied back. "Sounds OK."

Bruce watched as Dick went and sat down in the beanbag chair near the far wall. Frowning he walked back to the office door and couldn't shake the feeling something was not quite right with his normally energetic son.

* * *

Some hours later Bruce let out a sigh of relief as he opened his office door, he took note that Dick was asleep on the couch and Conner was playing a game on the computer.

He walked over to his desk and asked him. "How do you think the meeting went with Clark's parents?"

Shrugging Conner told him. "I thought they were nice, but what I don't get is why their son acts like he does? Mr. Kent didn't turn Clark away and he was younger than I am."

"Technically you are around a year old." Bruce pointed out.

Glaring up at Bruce, Conner continued. "My point is, Clark was literally a toddler and not physically a teenager when he came to Earth. I am a different story altogether. I am just some kind of weapon that was created to take out Superman. I don't want to do that, I don't ever want to take out anyone. If I have any say in any of what is going on right now, I would rather stay with you. You understand me, Clark doesn't."

Bruce knew the teen had a point. He also knew Clark was in the wrong treating Conner the way he did.

As Bruce drove through the countryside to the Manor Conner spoke again. "Clark said he was going to pay a visit to the Manor this evening. I think I made him mad or something."

"I think you did fine, but thanks for telling me. I was wondering what he had said to you before we left." Bruce told him as he pulled into the driveway.

Once he parked he didn't miss the way Dick slammed his car door and take off for the house. Conner watched the younger boy storm off and asked. "What's gotten into him?"

Bruce walked around the car and said. "I will go find out, I will catch up to you later. Let me know if Clark shows up."

Nodding Conner watched Bruce follow Dick. He wondered if the younger teen was upset by all the changes going on?

* * *

Back in Metropolis Clark was putting his coat on and told his parents. "I have to run to Gotham real quick, I forgot to tell Bruce something before he left."

Martha looked up at her son and told him. "That's fine honey. Will you be back in time for dinner?"

Looking up at the clock on the kitchen wall he told her. "Maybe, if Bruce's butler doesn't talk me into staying."

Jonathan grumbled sitting in the recliner. "Martha, the boy is not a child anymore. He is capable of coming and going without our permission. But Clark, you need to tell Wayne the truth about you wanting to keep that boy of yours."

Clark rolled his eyes and told his father. "Pa, did you not hear me earlier? I can't split Dick and Conner up. Not now, they have bonded as brothers. Splitting them up will hurt both of them in the long run."

"They are both on that Justice team, they will see each other often enough. It's not like you are going to pull the boy from the team." His father tried to reason.

Clark groaned in frustration. "Pa, will you listen to me? Bruce already has temporary custody of him, I signed my parental rights away a week ago. Now it's just up to the family court to do the rest."

Standing up Jonathan told him flatly. "When we took you in and knew you were an alien we knew you would never be able to give us a grandchild, but a miracle happened and now you have a son. The faster you realize that the better off everyone will be."

Clark was getting fed up with this argument and said firmly. "I am standing my ground on this Pa, I know you would like to have a grandchild, and some day Lois and I will adopt. But right now Conner is better off with Bruce, he doesn't want to live with me and he's told me that himself. I am not going to force him to do anything he doesn't want to do."

"Clark, don't argue with your father," Martha told him firmly.

Frowning he looked over his shoulder. "Ma, you don't understand what all has happened in the last year or so. Conner is not only my clone, he was created by Cadmus to replace me as Superman. He was supposed to be a weapon that was going to kill me and take my place. How would you feel if you knew that about a kid that was supposed to be your son? It's a hard pill to swallow. Thankfully I have had the Justice League to back me up. They don't agree with my methods but they know how I feel… well everyone but Bruce and Dinah."

"Then you need to change your ways. When you become a parent, it's not about you anymore." Martha told him pointedly.

"I know that Ma, you don't have to tell me that. I've seen it with Bruce, he figured it out the hard way. I choose to give Conner up. It's my choice, not yours. I love you both, I get where you are coming from. But _you_ need to see where _I'm_ coming from on this, I know I can't use Dick and Conner's friendship as a crutch or an excuse. But, they have become a family. I was not there when Conner needed a father figure, Bruce was. Bruce trained him, was there for him, and has been a mentor to him for almost a year now. How would you feel if _my_ parents came back? I know their dead, but if a member of my family showed up or even them and they wanted me to be part of the family again. How would you feel? Tell me honestly."

Both Martha and Jonathan gave each other a look before Jonathan answered. "We would be devastated son. We really would."

"OK, now _that's_ the position you are putting me in, I know he is biologically my son. But my heart is not in a position to fight for him, not the way you want me too. If I fought as hard as you want me to it would be a lie and Conner would be hurt. The last thing I want to do is hurt him any more than I already have. I see the look in his eyes when I _am_ around, he wants to learn as much as he can about the powers he has. He also wants me to be his father, I can't do that part. I can be his teacher, but I am not ready to be his father. And I probably never will. So, it's in Conner's best interest that he is placed up for adoption, where someone can give him the love and support he needs. Bruce can do that, I will still get to see him but I don't have any responsibility other than teaching him about his Kryptonian powers. That Bruce can not do fully."

Jonathan asked him softly feeling defeated from the argument. "Have you ever spent any time with him? Just you and him?"

Standing up straighter he replied back. "Yes, little over a month ago Conner accidentally broke out a window on the second floor of Wayne Manor. I helped Conner repair it. We worked together for hours fixing it. That has been the most time we have ever spent together since his arrival."

Both his parents stood there watching him, he noticed the sad expressions. They were going to try and guilt him into taking Conner since pleading didn't work. He shook his head and told them. "I have to go, I will be back in a little bit."

With that he left his apartment and once hidden away he flew to Wayne Manor. He felt ridiculous relying so much on Bruce here lately but it can't be helped. He needed to talk to Conner but now he also needed to talk to Bruce as well. He just hoped his visit wasn't ill timed…

* * *

 **A/N:** So I did it again peeps! Had to leave ya guessing what's gonna happen next. LOL. Love the responses to the chapters that are coming out! Love you guys for all your support! Oh and shout out to JeggarK for the reminder about Clark's parents! ;)


	14. Stressed

**Note:** There is a deliberate error in grammar on Conner's part near the end of this chapter. Bruce notices it and doesn't respond to it seeing as Conner's upset and isn't thinking clearly.

Thank you all for the responses to this story! The more responses I get the faster I tend to update! It makes me so happy to see what you guys think. :)

 **I found some errors after updating. They are now corrected, for those of you who have been following if you're confused about any changes PM me and I will explain what is going on.**

* * *

Bruce walked into the Manor and heard Dick's door slam shut on the second floor, Alfred came out of the living room and asked. "What happened, sir?"

"Dick has been acting weird ever since we left Clark's apartment this afternoon. Conner, did he say anything to you since I left to go back to my meeting?" Bruce asked as he put his coat and gloves away in the closet.

Conner stopped in his tracks when Bruce spoke to him. "No, he helped me get a game up on your computer and showed me how to play. Then he laid down on the couch and fell asleep. Other than that he didn't say anything."

"Maybe he's just tired, sir? After all, he did spend just about the entire day in your office." Alfred tried to reason.

Bruce nodded and said. "You could be right, but I want to make sure that's all it is. How soon will dinner be ready?"

"In about an hour, we are having a roast with potatoes and carrots," Alfred told him.

"Ok, I will go talk to him and we will be down after a while," Bruce told him as he went up the stairs.

* * *

Dick laid on his bed with the shades drawn and his bedside lamp on, with his arms folded behind his head he stared up at the ceiling. _What is wrong with me? Why did I act that way at the office? I don't feel sick. I really hope that Clark doesn't change his mind, or his parents don't get him to anytime soon. I like having Conner around the house, the days have passed by so fast in the last month since he's been here. Maybe I'm jealous of Conner? I've had Bruce to myself all these years and now I have to share part of my life with him… heck, what am I talking about, all my life. Being a superhero, living at the Manor, going to school… my life's never going to be the same once the adoption is final._

He was pulled from his thoughts by a knock on the door, knowing who it most likely was he said loudly. "Come on in Bruce."

Entering the room he looked around for a moment and saw Dick's coat discarded on the floor at the foot of the bed. Walking over to stand by the bedside Bruce asked. "Everything OK?"

Looking over at Bruce he shrugged and said. "Yea, I'm fine."

Sitting on the edge of the bed Bruce said to him. "Dick, I thought we had cleared the air back in Rome about everything going on? Why are you acting so upset now?"

Letting out a frustrated sigh Dick sat up with his head against the headboard. "I don't know, I just… I guess I am worried."

"About what? Conner? The adoption? Losing my attention?" Bruce suggested.

Dick met Bruce's eyes at that last question. "No…"

"Dick Grayson, I know you better than that. I think what's going on is you're afraid of losing me once Conner is a permanent part of our family." Bruce told him softly.

When Dick didn't respond Bruce continued. "I also think you are worried that if something goes wrong with the adoption that you will be hurt as well. I wondered if there wasn't some jealousy going on in the mix of emotions."

"I'm not jealous of Conner," Dick argued.

Smiling Bruce told him. "Yes you are, I can see it. I have been spending a lot of time with Conner lately..."

"But he needs you, he needs a father… and I know that." Dick started to say.

Nodding Bruce told him. "That is true, but so do you. Something that I have to learn is to divide my time between you. Also spending time with both of you together as well as apart, it's something we can work on down the road. I may be your surrogate father but know that I will always be there if you need me. I can never replace John Grayson, I don't want to replace him. He will always be your true father."

Dick looked down at the dark bedspread and fiddled with a loose string. It was easier now to hear his dad's name and not cry or feel a ton of sadness. But part of his heart still hurt at the sound of his name.

"I know… you've been a great dad, I have always looked up to you over the years. You will be in my life longer than my natural father was. He lives in my heart, just like your parents live in yours. Our parent's memories will never fade in our hearts."

Bruce saw a small tear escape as Dick closed his eyes for a second, scooting closer he wrapped his arms around him and said. "Dick, it's alright to feel the emotions you are feeling. The way Clark treats Conner is wrong, I think Clark has learned his lesson on that. To a point at least. It's sad that it's taken Conner being adopted and his parents showing up on his doorstep for him to figure it out. He knows it's far too late to turn back."

Leaning back Dick told him. "I guess I am feeling a little jealous… but I feel stupid for feeling that way. Does that make any sense?"

Smiling Bruce told him. "Yes, it does. It's OK. Just come and talk to me and we can work things out. Don't ever feel like you can not come to me with a problem OK?"

Nodding Dick asked him. "Is dinner ready yet? I didn't eat much lunch."

"I saw that, yes it should be ready soon. Come on." He coaxed Dick to come with him. They went down the stairs and the smell of roast filled the entire first floor.

* * *

Once dinner was on the table Bruce noticed how quiet both boys were. Not liking the fact that he had just talked to Dick and the boy wasn't talking. "So how about after dinner we go on patrol for a little while?"

Conner looked up from his plate and smiled. "Sounds fun, it's been a while."

Dick smiled and told them. "Yea it does, so when does the YJ team get to go on a mission again?"

Bruce put his fork down and told him. "Well, Martian Manhunter hasn't told me about any new reports of anything going on lately. Even simple missions haven't been available lately."

"It's like the criminals are taking a break," Conner commented softly.

They fell into a silence again, until several moments passed and Conner asked.

"Bruce? Can I bring Wolf here?"

Bruce took a drink of his coffee and gave him a slight glance before looking over at Alfred who had just walked in with desert. "I don't see it as a problem, but I haven't ever been around him for more than just a few moments. How does he act at Mount Justice?"

"Pretty mellow unless of course you tick him off or scare him then he will either attack or growl at you. But he's not fast to anger, it takes time. He is pretty patient for the most part." Conner explained.

"Does he ever go out into the field with you when I send you kids on missions?"

"Sometimes, but not all of them. Just the ones that require us to go into woods or jungles, he's a good navigator when it comes to tracking down the enemy if they try and block my scanners." Dick told his father.

Bruce was silent for a moment then told them. "I don't mind, but, he is not to go on patrol with us here in Gotham. He's only allowed to go on Young Justice missions, I can't have him running around Gotham."

Nodding Conner told him. "Yes, sir."

Alfred asked Bruce. "Shall I make the necessary adjustments to the yard then sir? A fence around the Manor?"

Dick looked up at Alfred and told him. "It would have to be an iron fence that is over 30 feet high. Wolf can bust through a chain link fence with no trouble at all. He's as strong as Superman, if not slightly weaker than him. But if so, it's not by much."

"My word, that is one strong dog," Alfred exclaimed.

"Word of advice Alfred… don't call him a dog when he gets here… Wally and Kaldur figured that out the hard way. I called him a dog once but he didn't seem to mind as much, I don't know if my size had anything to do with it or not at the time."

Dick could see the shock on Alfred's face, but then he added. "Oh yeah, and he's bigger than a Great Dane. He weighs about 3 or 400 pounds and from his shoulders down to his paws he's about 5 feet high."

"My word. That is one large animal." Rephrasing his earlier statement.

Bruce looked over at Alfred and told him. "He is a big boy, when I have been to Mount Justice I saw that he primarily slept in Conner's room. So a dog house wouldn't be necessary, though, Conner what does he eat?"

"Kid Flash always brought him some dog food from Keystone City. He may be large but he doesn't eat much. Just fill his bowl once every other day and he's happy."

"Is there a certain brand? Or Generic?" Bruce asked.

Looking confused he looked at Dick questioningly. Chuckling at his friend's confusion he said. "It's Generic Bruce. It's a green bag that says 'Dog Food' on the front."

Bruce nodded and took a sip of his coffee, then asked. "Do we need to buy more food or does he have some left over?"

"Wally usually brings 3 large bags once a month. He should still have two left." Dick answered.

Nodding Conner told him. "Yes, he still has two bags left. I had just opened one when we were there last time."

"I see, Alfred make sure to buy two more bags of food. This way we know we have enough."

"I shall see to it Master Bruce, where should I store it?" Alfred asked looking between all three of them.

Conner jumped in and told them. "I would keep it behind a door if I were you. The first time and last time we didn't there was dog food all over the floor. And he ate nearly an entire bag. That was before we knew anything about his diet."

Dick remembered that day all too well, they spent nearly an hour sweeping up dog food that was scattered all over Conner's room.

Bruce considered something, this wolf/dog was still considered a meat eater… it would need the added protein.

"I was reading about wolf/hybrids a while back when that animal first came to Mount Justice… how often do you feed him real meat?" Bruce asked Conner.

"Once a day, that was what I was advised of anyway."

Thinking for a moment he turned to Alfred. "We are going to need to supply that wolf with plenty of raw meat Alfred. Please get a separate cooler for him, and we will buy fresh meat to feed him."

"What type of meat shall I get sir? Beef, pork and chicken?"

"Think about what a wolf would eat, those three items and probably venison too. I know a good butcher in Gotham that supplies all of those for a reasonable price. I would get as much as the new cooler could hold."

Conner looked concerned and asked. "Have I been taking care of him wrong?"

Shaking his head Bruce told him. "No, not necessarily. But he needs more meat in his diet, that could be why he's aggressive towards other people. If he doesn't get an adequate amount of meat in his diet he will start hunting for it. And that is not a good thing since he would be going out and killing local livestock to get what he needs."

"Why hasn't he been so aggressive towards us so far?" Dick asked.

"Because he trusts and knows you as his friends. Wolves are smart animals, with his mutated DNA he's super intelligent. He knows what's food and what's not, he also would know who to trust to feed him. You say he ripped up a bag of dog food a while back when you first got him, let me ask you. When was the last time he'd had meat? Back then of course?"

"We had only been feeding him dog food at the time, Kaldur told us that he would need to have meat or he would turn on us."

"That's a good possibility that he probably would have. Tell you what Conner, as soon as we have everything we need to care for him properly you may bring him from Mount Justice. No in light that we have one of the Wayne Foundation Galas here at the Manor he will have to return to the Mountain while that is going on."

"Yes sir, that sounds fair to me," Conner told him.

Nodding Conner pushed his empty plate away. "Can I be excused?"

Alfred was standing beside the table and corrected him. "It's 'may I be excused' Master Conner, not 'can I'."

Dick rolled his eyes and chuckled into his water glass, he couldn't count how many times Alfred had corrected him over the years.

Conner sighed and looked at Bruce again. "May I?"

Bruce chuckled with a smile and told him. "Yes, you may."

Conner got up and headed up to his room, he had some things to think about before they went on patrol. And that was exactly where Clark found him when he knocked on Conner's window.

* * *

Clark saw a light flip on in the second floor of Wayne Manor as he approached, flying to the window he knocked. He saw Conner give him a questioning look and then opened it for him.

"What are you doing here?" Conner asked as he stepped back letting the older man in. The cool night air rushed passed them as Clark entered the room.

"I needed to talk to you." He looked around the room and said. "I think you have the second largest room in the house."

Ignoring Clark's observation Conner crossed his arms across his chest and asked. "Again I ask: What are you doing here? Is the front door to easy to use?"

Clark could see that his clone was irritated and replied. "I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable this afternoon at the apartment. I had no intentions of doing so. My parents can be so pushy at times, I love them but they can be something else."

"I'm not leaving. You may have my DNA and by all rights that makes you my father, but I am not leaving. You can try and take me away but it's not going to happen. Bruce has been the only other person to give a damn about me in the last several months."

Clark looked off to the side for a moment before saying. "I'm not here to take you away Conner, I know I can't do that. Yes, my parents want me to, but they also need to know I am a grown man and can make my own choices. You are much better off here in Gotham than you are with me in Metropolis."

"That doesn't exactly explain why you came to my window at this time of day," Conner stated flatly.

Clark could see the fire in the boy's blue eyes. _Man, he is so much like me… wants to get right to the point._ "I wanted you to know, that no matter what happens, I won't tear you and Dick apart. I know you two have gotten close in the last couple of months. I also know I haven't been a good father to you, and you have no reason to trust me. But something I want you to understand about adoption: anything can happen. Since I simply gave up my parental rights you are now officially up for adoption, meaning that anyone can adopt you. Not just Bruce. If I have to and I hope it doesn't come to this, I will take custody back if things do not go in our favor. I did a bit of research about your new social worker, she is a firm believer that children remain with the biological parents. She can spell trouble for Bruce and will most likely dig up Dick's adoption to use against him."

"Why would that make a difference? That was years ago."

Shaking his head he said. "I'm not talking about the actual adoption, that only took two weeks. No, I am talking about him getting guardianship over Dick. That took almost a good year to do, the system was more corrupt back then. I think between me and Bruce we got it all straightened out now."

"What happened?" Conner asked sitting down on his bed with Clark standing facing him.

"Dick's parents were the only living family he had, he has no one else. Well the CPS swore up and down that he had more family, maybe even a distant cousin in another country. Bruce's lifestyle as a playboy, philanthropist is hard for some people to accept that he is actually a good guy. He chooses to be a playboy only because it separates him from Batman. For obvious reasons we couldn't tell CPS that, we still have to be careful because if CPS finds out that Dick is Robin… let's just say, it won't be good."

"I don't understand, Dick's not in danger? Bruce watches over him." Conner said confusion in his voice.

"Every time he puts on that cape, Dick's in danger. He can be captured at any given time if they get separated. Now he as Dick Grayson is in danger almost all the time when out in public, because of who Bruce is thieves will stop at nothing to kidnap Dick for ransom."

Shaking his head Conner told him. "But he kicks butt on the field?"

Chuckling at that Clark told him. "That's true, he does. But, he isn't allowed to use those abilities on potential kidnappers. Bruce has been thinking about going public and telling people he's putting Dick through martial arts classes. But he hasn't decided yet on if he should or not. With you around Dick's safe, with Wally around he's safe. Between both of you, you won't let anything happen to him as Dick Grayson. But CPS will most likely dig up anything to stop your adoption, only because you do have living family. My parents are not our blood, but they are my adopted parents and if they see it necessary they may try and take you if things don't go the way they want it too."

He stopped for a second then continued. "But I don't see them doing that, seeing as they are just a couple of elderly farmers out of Smallville Kansas."

Looking down at his hands in his lap then back up to Clark he asked. "Will they force you to take me?"

"They are currently trying. They know though that once I have made up my mind I won't change it, I'm stubborn like that."

"It's about time you admitted that." Came a voice from the doorway.

They both jumped and turned to the doorway to see Bruce standing there with an amused look on his face.

"Clark, you forgot to close the window. You know if it doesn't shut after one minute the alarm sounds in the Batcave." Bruce told him firmly. Walking towards him he added. "Of course Conner didn't know that or he would have shut it himself."

Conner frowned and asked. "So how long have you been standing in the doorway?"

"Long enough to hear Clark admit that he's stubborn. The surveillance camera told me who was outside the window just before the alarm sounded, so I wasn't in any hurry to get up here." Bruce told him holding up his phone that had the bat insignia on it.

"So Clark what brings you here this fine, cool evening?" Bruce asked as he walked into the now cool room and sat on the trunk at the foot of the bed.

Bruce could tell something was bothering his old friend, by the way, he began pacing at the question that was asked.

"Do we need to speak privately?" Bruce tried to coax him to talk.

Conner frowned at Clark's sudden silence, sharing a look with Bruce he asked. "Is this about your parents? About them trying to push you into taking me?"

Clark froze in front of the open window, the cool fall air rushed around him as he stood there silently. "Yes." Turning around he stated firmly. "They are driving me nuts, and they have only been in my apartment for nearly 24 hours! They tried to guilt me this morning! They even tried it after you guys left! Why can't they get it through their heads I am not changing my mind! They know I won't so I don't see why they are trying so damn hard!"

"Clark, I think you just need to calm down. You brought this all on yourself months ago, you knew how they would have reacted back then and you know how they are acting now. If my parents were still alive they would be ecstatic that I have a son..."

"Dick's not biologically your's Bruce! This situation is a whole hell of a lot different!"

Conner had been silent far too long at this point, the burning rage he had been holding in finally came to the surface. "Don't put Dick in the middle of this Clark, if you had just stepped up months ago none of this would be happening now! You brought this on yourself and you know it. If you had introduced me to your parents back then than things would be a lot different. Besides that, I flat out asked you a few months ago to teach me how to land so I wouldn't fall through an unstable building. But no, you went off like always! You know how much courage that took? I was scared to death of you before! Granted yeah I looked up to you, even wanted to be like you!"

Clark was as speechless as Bruce was at this point as Conner stood up and walked in front of Clark. "Do you know what the first thing I thought of was when Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash rescued me? I thought of Superman! I don't remember much from when I first woke up, but my memories are still intact from when they snapped me out of it. When I started to get weak because I was running out of energy, Robin was the first to ask me if I wanted to go outside. I was like a baby Clark! I didn't know what outside meant! I asked him about the sun, KF was the one that lured me out of there by promising me we could go see it. But he didn't know it was night time, and the first thing I saw was the moon. Robin said it was close enough and should give me a little energy if we could get topside to get to it. I have been silent far enough."

Bruce wanted to correct his grammar but he knew better and stayed silent. He could see a look of defeat come over Clark. But from the looks of things Conner wasn't finished.

"I will tell you this right now, you do anything to screw up our team or hurt Dick because you don't have the gonads to stand up to your parents, there will be trouble!" Conner had ran out of steam, or at least, for the time being.

Bruce chuckled at that last statement and then said. "I agree with him Clark, especially on that last statement. You had better not compromise anything because of your failed attempts at standing up to your parents."

Clark turned towards Bruce and stated firmly. "Really? And what if our situations were reversed?"

Frowning Bruce told him flatly. "My parents are dead."

"I mean if they were still alive," Clark told him.

"Don't start with me Clark Kent! You knew damn well what you were doing almost one year ago! Now you're suddenly taking all of this personally? Honestly, I would probably be angry at first but only at first, there's no damn way I would ever turn my back on a kid! I never have, and never will. My parents would have thrown reality into my face like yours are doing to you. They have a point, they could have just handed your ass over to social services. But no, they took you in, raised you like you were their own child! I am not saying you should take Conner in, mainly because you're being an ass right now. You need to wake up, my choice to take Dick in when he was 8 is similar to what your parents did over 30 years ago! I took in an orphan on my own merit, knowing full well what life was going to be like raising a kid. I was an orphan once to Clark, just like you! Your real parents were murdered as well! But you lost an entire planet, my parents were my world. Yea I still miss them, but life does go on. Even if I do win this custody battle do you think I am going to keep Conner away from Mount Justice? Away from what he was created to do? He's a superhero Clark, just like both of us. When he gets older he can either choose to remain in Gotham or choose his own town to protect. Why on Earth you chose to come way out here rather than stay in Kansas is beyond me. And using the excuse 'I wanted to operate out of a large city' is not an excuse! Between Kansas and Metropolis, there are tons of large cities, I was born and raised in Gotham, that's why I choose this town.

Don't you dare challenge my upbringing, and the reasons behind why I took in a kid in the first place. We settled that argument years ago. Now this is about you being an arrogant ass hole not wanting to take your own flesh and blood son in! We had this talk I don't know how many times, and I for one am sick of how you treat him. Guess what, I'm not alone in this battle. The entire Justice League agrees with me. Your out voted on who will or won't back you up in this. But, I will not stand by anymore while you torment this kid. You do realize the crap you have been pulling falls under the category of mental and emotional abuse. You better not get angry at Conner for speaking his mind, the boy has that right just as much as anyone else does."

Bruce let out a long breath he didn't know he had been holding during his rant. The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Clark looked between Conner and Bruce, not knowing what to say anymore. He knew his old friend had been right to go off on him, nothing he said was a lie.

Conner was silent as he stood between the two men, he knew Bruce had a lot to get off his chest, but he didn't realize how much he had been holding in. Conner started to silently walk away when Bruce told him.

"Stay, Clark, get your head in the game and man up. I am going to need you in the future. I know enough about your powers to keep you at bay, but raising a boy that doesn't have the full abilities yet I am going to need help with. You will help me, I don't know everything, granted I have tried but I still don't know enough to raise a Kryptonian child myself. You don't have to be his mentor, but you are going to have to teach me to teach him, I have no powers and you know that." Bruce told him, feeling the moment of anger fading.

Clark knew if this had been anyone else he would have just walked away, but he and Bruce have had their fights in the past and have always made up in the end. For starters, Clark couldn't hold a grudge for long. He looked over at Conner who was still watching them from the foot of his bed.

Letting out a sigh he finally spoke in a soft voice. "I will, but… Bruce… My parents, you have to know if I don't win and you do, they are going to want to still see Conner."

"Then who am I to stop them, he's the only grandchild they have or will ever have for that matter."

"No, you don't understand, my mother may want to try and gain custody of him," Clark told him.

Bruce knew from experience that there would have to be blood relation to fight that hard to gain custody or signs of abuse that would keep him from adopting the teen.

"We will cross that bridge when we get there, but first we need to find out what is going on with CPS, I haven't heard anything and it's been over a week. What about you?"

"Nope, nothing on my end," Clark told him.

Bruce frowned and then said softly. "What are they up to?"

* * *

Across town, a woman was sitting at her desk going over the latest adoption case: Clark Kent vs Bruce Wayne. She knew about the previous adoption of Dick Grayson, why would he want a second child? An older teenager no less? These and a lot more questions came to her mind as she read over his adoption application. Taking note that he was still single, she wanted to dig up something that would be considered bad for his position of wanting to adopt Conner Kent.

She read the child's name again, and thought _is he Clark's son? Why is he putting the boy up for adoption? He's 16 so why wait till now to place him up for adoption? I need to speak with these two and find out more of what is going on before I accept this application._

* * *

It had been about an hour since the argument in Conner's room, Bruce canceled patrol and decided he and Clark needed to have another talk in the study. The boys were under strict instructions not to listen in, no matter if they could help it or not.

Bruce sat behind his desk as Clark took the seat in front of him. Letting out a heavy sigh Bruce told him. "So, what is it your parents hope to gain by guilting you into keeping Conner?"

Leaning back in the chair Clark told him honestly. "Aside from gaining a grandson, I am not sure. They kept pushing me this afternoon, I had, had enough so I came here."

"If our roles truly were ever reversed and I ever found out I had a kid I didn't know about, I would keep him. But, that's just me."

"Remember that for when it actually happens. But what I'm worried about is we haven't heard from CPS and it's been a week. Dinah had taken our papers only for them to end up in different hands. What happened? Did she tell you?" Clark asked as he leaned forward.

"No, she didn't tell me, I really wish I knew," Bruce told him honestly just as Clark's cell phone rang.

Clark answered and got up for a moment after he greeted the caller. Waiting patiently Bruce pulled out his copy of the paperwork he had filled out at the Daily Planet. Reading it over he waited for his friend to come back.

Clark walked back into the study with an angry look on his face. "This is ridiculous!" He exclaimed as he shut the door hard.

Looking up Bruce asked. "What's wrong? Who was that?"

"It's the new social worker, she wants to have a meeting with us tomorrow morning concerning my giving up parental rights! And you adopting Conner. She said as of right now and until our meeting, it's been denied! How can they do that!" Clark told him feeling frustration sinking in.

Bruce frowned and picked up his desk phone and dialed a number. Clark tuned out the conversation while he looked over the books that lined the shelves of the study. Deep in thought he almost didn't hear Bruce ten minutes later calling his name.

"Clark." Bruce tried to gain his attention back. Once he turned Bruce told him. "That was Dinah, she said that they do have the right to deny it only if they think it's for the best interest of the child. She said it's a rare move that is seldom made but it's not unheard of."

Clark was silent as he sat back down in the chair across from Bruce. "So does this mean I have to take Conner back to Metropolis with me?"

Bruce shook his head and said. "No, not necessarily, if she asks where he is at the moment just tell her he's at a friends house. You're not lying to her, he is at a friends house."

Nodding Clark told him. "Sounds like a good plan to me."

Bruce looked up at the clock. "You've got to be kidding me? It's one in the morning already?"

"It was well past 7 when I came over and Conner and I had talked for a while before you came up. Then we've been here talking for a long time, so yeah that sounds about right."

Bruce got up from his seat and said. "I guess I better check on the boys and head to bed, call me if something comes up."

"I will, I just hope my folks don't try and give me trouble about taking off like I did."

"You're a grown man Clark, you can do whatever you please. Just always remember that OK? See you in the morning. Oh and, use the front door this time." Bruce said with humor in his voice.

Clark walked out of the study and headed for the front door. Bruce headed up the stairs to the third floor to the game room. He opened the door to find the table lamp on dim and the boys fast asleep in the beanbag chairs.

"Conner? Dick? Boys you need to go to bed." He frowned when they didn't respond. Walking closer he saw they both had headphones that were attached to the TV that was playing a movie. He smiled and turned it off and removed the headphones from the boys' heads and said.

"Boys, hey come on guys you can't sleep in here."

Dick and Conner groaned and slowly opened their eyes to see Bruce standing over them. "What time is it Bruce?" Dick asked, his voice sounding tired.

"It's after one in the morning." Came the reply, once he saw them start to get up he left the room and went to his own. Changing for bed he wondered how much his life was about to change yet again.

He also thought about what was going to happen in the near future as CPS began to start the adoption process. Looking outside his window he saw the frost beginning to form on the window. It was becoming colder, and he knew that December was upon them and soon Christmas would be here. What could he give Conner for Christmas? The teen was like Dick in the ways of not asking for much, surely he could come up with some ideas in the next few weeks.

* * *

 **Notice:** I made some errors to this story by mistake. I caught it in time and can fix it before it gets too out of hand. I will post 'Errors fixed' at the top of each chapter I correct.


	15. The Meeting

Once Clark made it back to his apartment he saw from outside his apartment window that his father was still up. _Maybe I should have asked Bruce if I could stay the night?_

Hovering outside his living room window he checked to make sure no one could see him since he wasn't dressed as Superman. Seeing the coast was clear he watched his father pace by the door and look at his watch multiple times. _Might as well pay the piper._

Going to complexes main doors he walked in and went to the Elevator. Going up to his floor he waited outside his door and thought for a moment. _I could always go back to the Manor? Bruce and Alfred won't care. Or at least I hope not… But, I can't just leave my Pa waiting for me either. Why did they have to show up when all of this was going on?_

Coming to a decision he opened his door and saw his father standing there, the look on his face told Clark he wasn't pleased that his son took off.

"Where have you been?" Johnathan demanded to know.

Frowning as he shut the door Clark replied. "I was out, Pa, you do realize that I am an adult and not a teenager. Right?"

Jonathan's frown deepened as he told his son. "I am still your father Clark Kent, you didn't tell us where you were going."

Seeing that his parents made a bed in the living room on the pull-out sofa he stormed off to his room and said over his shoulder. "You may be my father but I am not a kid anymore, so stop treating me as such."

Going to his room he shut his door and laid on his bed. This was crazy, his father just hours ago told his mother not to treat him like a kid, but here his father is treating him like one. Shaking his head he attempted to fall sleep.

* * *

The next morning found Bruce waking up with a migraine, rolling out of bed he saw it was only 6:30. Groaning he put on his housecoat and slippers and went downstairs to get a cup of coffee. Walking into the kitchen he saw Alfred making a breakfast bake.

"Morning Alfred." He groaned out as he sat at the breakfast bar.

Turning from the counter he smiled and replied back. "Good Morning sir, sleep well?"

Groaning again and rubbing his temples he told him. "Not really, tossed and turned for the last few hours."

"Are you worried about the meeting today with the social worker?" Alfred asked as he put the baking pan in the oven and set the timer.

"Sort of, but I am worried mostly about how Dick keeps changing his moods. At first, he was thrilled about it all then he acts jealous. His mood swings are hard to tell if he's really wanting this or not."

Bruce put his face in his hands then rubbed his temples, a soft rustling and a light tap of plastic being set on the counter got his attention. Looking down he saw an aspirin bottle, looking up into the knowing eyes of his old friend he said softly. "Thanks."

He took two and swallowed them down with his coffee. Looking down at the newspaper he hesitated before picking it up. Reading the articles he didn't find anything that caught his eye, he watched Alfred as the old man began to put away the ingredients from breakfast and wash dishes. He knew it would be a little bit before the boys were up.

Alfred turned from the sink and asked. "Are you alright sir? I haven't seen you like this in quite a while."

Bruce put the paper down and regarded his old friend thoughtfully. "You mean since taking Dick in?"

"Yes, sir, I seem to recall you waking with a headache the very morning you were to report to CPS to fill out paperwork and meet with the social worker."

"Somehow this time it's different… I mean… taking Dick in was easier I will admit that much. But Clark is Conner's father, I know he doesn't want custody but his parents are trying to force him."

"Are you worried they may succeed in changing Master Clark's mind?"

Bruce stared at the sink behind Alfred for a moment before saying. "Somewhat, yes. Dick has grown so attached to him. I don't want them to hurt him by forcing Clark to do something he doesn't want to do."

"I do recall that he has put everyone in the hot-seat with this one sir. He should have just done what you asked him to do from the beginning."

Nodding Bruce replied. "I think he's starting to see that. I really do."

"Do you think he will finally step up?"

"He's too stubborn, once he's made up his mind he won't change it. No matter how insistent his parents may get."

"But, I think you should ask yourself, Master Bruce, 'what if he does change his mind?' Something could come up that causes him to change his mind about the boy, what then?"

Bruce was silent for several moments before saying. "We will cross that bridge if we get there, for now, let's just focus on the meeting at hand."

"What meeting? I thought you were off today?" Dick said as he entered the kitchen and sat next to Bruce.

"I am off today, I have a meeting with CPS, they called Clark last night..." Bruce grew silent when Conner entered the room.

"What was said?" Conner asked sitting on the other side of Dick.

Bruce took in a sharp breath and said. "Conner… they won't let him give up his parental rights."

Dick looked shocked and said quickly. "What? Can they do that? What does that mean for Conner? Does he have to go to Metropolis?"

Putting a hand up to silence his son he said. "Slow down there Dick, Clark and I talked about it and Conner stays put. That is why I am going to Metropolis in a little bit for the meeting. If you two want to go hang out with your friends at the Mountain you can or stay here I am leaving that up to you two."

Bruce could see the worry in his son's eyes, putting a hand on his son's shoulder he said. "Dick, don't worry, everything will turn out fine. Besides I doubt Clark will give up so easily he wants Conner to stay with us, and for whatever reason, CPS disagrees with him. I will find out today what is going to happen alright?"

Nodding he told him solemnly. "OK."

"Good, now I am going to go get ready while Breakfast is cooking," Bruce told them as he got up. Dick turned in his seat and said quickly. "Bruce, wear your black tie."

"But I always wear my dark blue one."

"I know, but the black one brings you good luck," Dick told him quickly.

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Bruce asked his son thoughtfully.

Smiling Dick reminded him. "You were wearing it the day you got me out of the detention center and brought me here."

Returning the smile Bruce told him. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Anytime big guy. And good luck, don't get whelmed." Dick told him in good humor.

Conner chuckled and told him. "Yea, good luck."

With new found confidence Bruce left to get ready for the meeting with CPS in Metropolis.

* * *

Clark had tossed and turned most of the night, he doubted Bruce fared any better with sleep knowing how the man dealt with stress. Getting up out of bed he got an outfit to wear to the meeting and headed to the bathroom to shower and change. Once ready he stood there looking at his reflection in the mirror.

 _I hope today goes in Bruce's favor. If they decide that Conner has to come with me I will be letting the boy stay in Gotham. I sound like such a jerk… I don't know why I am being so stubborn about all of this. Hell if it does happen that he has to come here, even for a short time, I will see to it that Dick visits often._

A knock on the door drew him from his thoughts. "Clark honey, breakfast is ready."

Putting on a fake smile he replied back. "Be right out Ma."

He ran a comb through his hair again and said quietly to his reflection. "Let's do this."

Turning out the light he walked out to the kitchen and saw his parents sitting at the table, sighing he sat down at the head of the table and asked. "So how long are you two planning on staying?"

His father looked at him over his plate of pancakes and said. "We thought we would head out tomorrow morning and make the flight back to Kansas. We want to know what that social worker has to say about all of this."

"She's not allowing me to give up my parental rights, she said that it's rare that it happens but occasionally it does occur."

"Well, honey what ever happens we are here for you," Martha told him gently.

Rolling his eyes he told his mother. "You act as though I am fighting to keep the boy? I am fighting to have him adopted. I am not changing my mind Ma, you and Pa are just going to have to accept that. Bruce and I have already talked about it and came to the decision that when he adopts Conner that I will get visitation rights, so when I come home for holidays I can bring him with me if he chooses to go."

His father gave him a stern look and Clark told him. "Pa don't look at me like that, the boy is better off living in a home where someone can afford to meet his needs. I barely make enough to make ends meet as it is by myself. If I had a kid to care for then it will be ten times worse, I only make enough to keep food on the table and pay bills. I don't own a car, I take the subway. Bruce has more cars and money than he knows what to do with. Conner is better off with him. It's not fair for the boy to be with me because I can't afford to send him to school, buy him clothes, or anything like that. No one at the Daily Planet has children because they don't pay enough. Granted Conner is 16 but still, I know I can't make him happy. And that is all I want for him, this is fully my decision, not yours. I love you and respect your opinion but at the end of the day it's my choice to make."

His parents were silent for several moments, all that was heard were silverware on plates as the two ate in silence. Clark didn't say anymore as he finished his breakfast and stood up.

"I will see you two when I get back." With that, he got his wallet, coat, apartment key and left.

Walking to the subway station he almost missed the Porsche pulling up beside the sidewalk, the window rolled down to reveal Bruce. "Hey, need a lift?"

Clark gave him a weak smile and walked over to the car and got in the passenger seat. The temperature had dropped a little and he was just barely feeling the effects of it, but the offer for a ride was a nice one.

"So, are you ready for this?" Bruce asked as he drove to the CPS office.

Shaking his head Clark told him. "Honestly, no. Dinah wasn't kidding when she said this wasn't going to be as easy as we thought it was going to be."

"No, she wasn't, I would like to talk to the director of CPS to find out why we lost Dinah as the case worker," Bruce told him as he pulled into the parking lot of a two-story building that read CPS on the outside of it.

Bruce pulled into an empty spot and turned the car off, just as he was about to open the door Clark put his hand on his friend's arm to stop him. "I told my parents off this morning, about 15 minutes ago to be exact. I explained why I couldn't take Conner in. But Bruce, they don't seem to hear me. I told them I can't take him in and they won't hear me out."

Looking over at his longtime friend he told him gently. "Clark, they just may not understand where you're coming from with this. They may hear you but don't see your side of the story. I meant what I said a few months back when I told you that you needed to get over the how and why Conner is here. But since you don't want to be a father, you are doing the next most responsible thing. CPS and your parents don't see it that way though and that's the frustrating part."

They watched as a few people walked in and out of the building, the snow on the ground made it slippery but were both wondering the same thing _what do these people want?_

Clark gave his friend a grin and replied. "Well, let's go show them that this is the right thing to do."

Getting out of the car they both walked in together they were greeted by a short, stout, red-headed woman, who was wearing a long black skirt with a black blazer and white long sleeved blouse. In Bruce's opinion, she could pass as a nun.

"Hello, my name is May Robinson. I am Conner's social worker, you two gentleman must be Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent?"

"Yes, Ma'am What happened to Dinah that was working with us last week?" Clark asked politely.

May sighed and told them. "Come to my office gentleman and I will explain some things to you both."

They followed the woman to an office near the front door, she shut the door and motioned for them to take a seat. Once sat she took her own seat behind the desk and pulled out a couple of files from her desk drawer.

"OK, here's the thing, Dinah is only part time and has no idea that things have changed with how things are taken care of nowadays. She hasn't worked on any cases for at least a year or better. Now Mr. Kent, why are you giving your son up for adoption? That is my biggest question?"

Clark sat up straight in his chair and replied back. "Well, I didn't even know I _had_ a son until Dinah contacted me at work a week ago. She's been his foster mother for a few years now from what she told us. I just do not have the time or the financial means to properly care for the teen. I work around the clock some weeks, I was in the middle of an interview when she contacted me. Bruce stepped in when I told Dinah nicely that I would rather my son go to someone else who can take care of him."

May looked over at Bruce before replying to Clark. "And you feel that Mr. Wayne is the best man to raise your son?"

"Yes, ma'am I do. He took that boy Richard Grayson in some years ago after his folks were killed in the circus. I was there to following up a story that my co-worker Lois was doing on circuses. She was sick that day and asked me to cover for her. I didn't witness the Grayson's fall because I was shoved to the back by some onlookers who panicked when the wire broke. Bruce took Richard in shortly after the incident."

Frowning May looked at a file that was in front of her and turned to Bruce. "Mr. Wayne, what is your work schedule like? With you owning over half the businesses in Gotham I don't see how you've found the time to care for even one child. And now you want to take on a second one?"

Bruce figured this would come up. "Miss, I can assure you that I have rerouted my schedule to meet the needs of raising a child. I work during school hours and I am home or try to be home when Richard gets out of school. It just depends on where my attention is in the course of the day, if it happens that I am going to run late then I call and let Alfred who also runs the home as well as assists with child care know so he can make the arrangements necessary to meet Richard's needs. There have been times the boy requests to come to Wayne Enterprise and wait in my office until I get through with a meeting that is running late. He passes the time by doing school work. And before you ask, if a meeting is running later than 6 pm I will call my associate Lucius Fox to cover me as I know Richard needs to get home in time for dinner and bed."

"You recently took Richard with you overseas due to something going on with your business is that right Mr. Wayne?"

"Yes, but Batman took care of it because it was the Madd Hatter that he fights frequently in Gotham. I didn't know until I tracked him to New York. I called Batman myself and he came and got rid of the nuisance. And I can assure you Richard was in no danger, Batman ordered his sidekick Robin to guard him that night he took Madd Hatter into custody."

Looking down at the other file she looked back up at Bruce. "It says here that Conner was in your care as well at the time."

Clark froze in his seat, looking over at Bruce who looked casually at the woman didn't bat an eye as he said easily. "Dinah had to go out of town for a couple of weeks, she knew Richard was my foster son at one point before the adoption and asked me to take the boy on my business trip."

"Didn't you find it funny that he had the same last name as your friend?"

"It crossed my mind, yes. And they do look alike. But it means nothing really because Richard could pass as my blood son for as much as we look alike. We all have a twin in the world Miss, and for all, I knew Conner was Clark's twin in the world. I asked him myself if he knew of a Conner Kent and he told me no."

She was silent for a moment as she looked through some papers, then turned her attention to Clark once more. "So do you need proof that the boy is your son?"

Clark let out a frustrated sigh and told her. "I just sat here and told you that I can not take him in. I really don't have time to care for him."

"Mr. Wayne had no problems shifting his schedule around."

Clark looked at her dumbfounded and said. "Really? Are you kidding me right now? He owns the cooperation! I don't own jack! I am a reporter, I am constantly on the go. My hours change daily, there is no set routine. Conner would be at home alone ninety percent of the time, he is better off with Bruce who can care for him in a way that I can't. He's been a terrific father to Richard, and from what I have seen he has done great with Conner."

Bruce cleared his throat to get her attention. "From what I understand, Conner hasn't ever been able to make a friend a single day in his life. But weeks ago when he first stepped into our lives my son has been attached to him like a little brother. Dinah noticed the resemblance one day between Clark and Conner and did some digging. That's when she found out that Conner was Clark's son, Conner has been in my care off and on in the last several weeks. I have noticed a steady change in Richard, a good change, he almost seems happier, more energetic."

"Like that's possible..." Clark mumbled low enough for Bruce to hear.

"Conner and Richard have a well-established friendship and from what I understand it's been impossible for the boy to make friends. Even my son has a hard time making friends. He has found a kindred spirit in Conner, maybe it's because he's a half orphan like Richard. I would like to adopt Conner, I would also like to make it so that Clark has visitation rights. His parents came up recently and found out about Conner, it would be nice for the old couple to get to know their grandson. Conner has agreed to this, to somewhat anyway. He seems shy around them."

She raised her eyebrows at Bruce suggesting such a thing as visitation. "And Clark, you agree with this? To only see your son part time?"

"Yes, I would rather be a part-time father, rather than a full-time one. I can also be there without him thinking I don't want him. I trust Bruce Wayne with my life, he has helped me out in a lot of ways in the past."

Nodding her head May asked. "And how long have you two known each other."

The two men looked at each other and Bruce answered. "Since we were children, my parents frequently traveled on business. We went through Smallville Kansas a few times, I remember our jet had to make an emergency landing and we ended up in the Kent's field. They seemed amused by the incident honestly, but anyway, I met Clark and the two of us became fast friends."

"That's understandable, two sibling-less boys meet and become life long friends," May responded.

"That's the gist of it," Clark told her.

"So Clark, why did you move to Metropolis, Gotham's sister city? Was it to be closer to your childhood friend?"

"Honestly, I wanted to live in a big city when I was younger. Bruce had told me stories about Gotham, we sent letters to each other seeing as how far away we lived from one another. I'll never forget the day that Alfred, the Wayne Butler sent a letter in Bruce's place telling me to not worry if I don't hear from Bruce for a while. He didn't go into detail and I didn't know why, my pa told me after a few months had gone by without a single word from Bruce, that Mr. and Mrs. Wayne had been shot in front of Bruce in an ally. Instead of sending a letter I looked up the Wayne's phone number and called. He was hurting, I didn't know how to comfort him, but he told me to just leave him alone for a while. We never heard or saw each other again until we became adults."

Bruce had to hand it to Clark, that was one hell of a story, and very believable. He kept himself from snickering by biting the inside of his cheek. He's known Clark for years, but not _that_ many years.

He could see that May was buying every bit of the story that Clark gave her, which was a good thing at this point.

May shifted some papers around and then told them. "That's amazing that you two rekindled your friendship after all these years, so here's what is going to happen now. Mr. Kent, I will grant you your request to terminate your parental rights. But we will need to take this to family court to have the judge make it official. Mr. Wayne, you will need to fill out some papers for temporary guardianship of Conner, then we will work on the adoption paperwork. With any luck, you will have a second son just in time for New Years. This is a long process so that's why it will take a few weeks to get things going. Thank you, gentleman, for coming in on such short notice."

Bruce and Clark both stood up and shook her hand.

"Thank you, when do I need to fill out the papers?" Bruce asked her.

"Come back Monday morning if possible, or I can fax them to you at your office and you can work on them and fax them back. I will send the adoption application as well." May told him as she stood up and followed the men to the door.

"I would rather it if you would fax them to my office asap," Bruce told her.

She smiled and told him. "I can do that, Mr. Wayne."

Clark asked her. "Do I need to refill out those papers to terminate my parental rights?"

Shaking her head she replied back. "No, I still have it on file. If anything changes I will give you a call."

The two men walked out into the parking lot, Clark noticed Bruce's shoulder shake ever so slightly as they got closer to his car. Once behind the tinted glass, Bruce let out a full on belly laugh, he saw the confused look on his friend's face and told him between fits of laughter.

"I swear, you can make up a better story than I can any day of the week! I am such a bad influence on you!" Bruce told him with humor behind his voice.

Clark chuckled and told him. "Hey I was desperate and she was asking difficult questions. So I just figured if you could get away with telling a white lie then so could I."

"I could tell you were adding to the story I told her, but my story was actually true. But you didn't recognize me when we grew up, I kind of knew who you were but to an extent. But I have a pretty shotty memory from my early years."

Giving him a confused look Clark asked. "What do you mean it was true? We met before our crime-fighter days?"

"Yes, I was 4 you were 6. My father told me about it, I just never retold the story to you before. I figured you remembered but guess not. Alfred told me about it again later on when we met again as adults. You know, if your folks want to see Conner again before they leave tomorrow have them stop by the Manor tonight for dinner. Alfred would love it and I know Dick would. Conner, I'm not so sure, but he needs to get used to being around strangers."

Clark turned in his seat and asked. "Are you being serious right now?"

"Yes, Clark look, I know we have not always seen eye to eye, but right now Conner doesn't need to see the other side of our relationship. We have always had our differences and we always will, it's who we are. It's what makes us work so good as a team, sometimes our stubbornness pays off."

"How does Dick feel about all these changes going on? The kid doesn't seem to do well when it comes to change in his life. Or rather a dramatic change, seeing as he was raised for over 8 and a half years in a traveling circus."

Bruce started the car and pulled out of his spot, pulling out onto the busy road he told him. "He seems, OK, we have been having some behavior problems. But that should be expected, I know he's worried about losing someone he's getting close too. That has been his deepest fear since his parent's deaths. I have tried to convince him that no one else will leave him..."

"That must have been hard on him, but losing his parents and all the people from the circus. He lost his entire world that day. I can see how a change would be difficult for him, does he act OK with Super… I mean Conner around?"

Smirking Bruce told him. "That's the first slip in over a month, you're getting better about calling him by name and not his hero name. But to answer your question, he seems to do fine. He enjoys teaching Conner things. Dick took him on an exploration of the caverns of the Batcave, in the end, I had to track them down when a storm hit. A swarm of bats got the best of them, Dick teased him about being afraid of the bats but he just brushed it off as following Dick's lead to duck when the bats came at them. I got a good laugh once I had them both back in the main part of the cave they ended it with a wrestling match. Getting too close to the docks I made them go to the training room to finish it."

Bruce was silent for a moment as he reached a red stop light. "Although, Conner did seem to ignore a fear he's been holding in."

"What's that?"

When the light turned green Bruce went on ahead towards Clark's apartment building. "He has a fear of hurting Dick, with his super strength. After the first time and only time, he actually knocked the wind out of Dick by throwing him into a wall. I was glad it wasn't _threw_ the wall, I have seen Conner send objects sailing threw walls and at a great distance. So it tells me he barely touched Dick in order to send him flying like that. He felt so horrible after that, he got real silent but then apologetic about it. He kept insisting I send him back to Mount Justice because he hurt Dick. I told him I am not giving up on him that easily, and it was an accident."

Nodding in understanding Clark replied. "So _that_ is why you had questioned me about the red sun, to help Conner control his powers."

"I told you about the incident in the cave but I just didn't tell you details. Yes, that is the main reason why I need something with the red sun to lower his powers. We can use his super powers at Mount Justice to train him in that area, or I can better train him outside rather than indoors. You will be pleased to know I think we've controlled his landings. I didn't make him use the grapple gun on the last mission in New York, he landed somewhat silently. I still heard him but he didn't nearly bring the roof down."

As they parked in front of the Apartment Clark asked. "How did you get him to control it?"

Bruce gave him a sly grin and said. "I may have used Dick as bait. Had Dick sit under a ledge in the cave while Conner had to land on top of the ledge without making it crumble down on Dick. Don't worry, Dick had his grapple gun just in case he had to make a fast escape. But mission accomplished, Conner landed safely on the ledge, he still dented the rock, but that's to be expected I'm sure. Even you do that with landings. And you have way more experience than he does."

Nodding Clark told him. "So true, I can't believe you used Dick. How did you manage to get him to go along with it?"

"Dick knew Conner's fear of hurting him or anyone else because of his poor landing skills, so, we both devised a plan to overcome that fear. It seems to have worked for now, but with red sun it would be even better."

"I will use the rest of the morning to come up with something, I have to cover a report later this afternoon but I should be able to find something out and I can give you a call. See you tonight if you don't hear from me beforehand."

"Ok, and thanks for the laugh. I needed that." Bruce told him chuckling.

Clark grinned and replied. "No problem, anytime."

Once parting ways Bruce headed back to Gotham City, he wondered if things would get easier from now on? He certainly hoped so...

* * *

 **Reactions? I couldn't stop laughing when writing that scene with Clark's story. I can't imagine what your response is.  
**


	16. Conner's First Christmas part 1

On the drive home Bruce thought about how much things were going to change in the future, he passed by Star Labs and began thinking about a way to get some Red Sun energy to help Conner. He would need Superman's help. Pressing a button on the dashboard the car automatically began calling Clark.

" _Miss me already?"_ Came Clark's voice over the speaker.

Shaking his head Bruce replied back. "Hey, Tonight how about you and I pay a visit to Star Labs. They tend to have a ready supply of Red Sun energy in stock. I know how much you hate it when they have something you don't know about."

" _How did you know they had a supply of it?"_

"Dick hacked the system late last night while we were talking. He really shouldn't leave evidence that he's been hacking into computers."

" _Are the boys going on patrol too? Or is this a solo mission?"_

"Solo, well with you there it's not completely solo now is it?"

" _Smart ass."_

"Alright, I will meet you around 10."

" _See you then."_

Bruce hoped this would make a nice gift for Conner for Christmas that was coming up faster than he had hoped. Christmas was Sunday, and today was Monday, given the fact he had 5 days to finish up Christmas shopping plus, they still had to decorate.

* * *

When he got back to the city he drove to the mall and went inside, going to the game store he found some video games he thought the boys would like, along with an updated game system.

After he was finished there he went over to home and gardens and found some things he thought Alfred would like. Once finished with all three he headed to the gift wrapping area near the front of the mall and had everything gift wrapped and labeled.

Pleased with himself he went back out to his car and drove the rest of the way home, he could see from the driveway that Dick and Conner were waiting for him out front. To his amusement, they were having a snowball fight. Smiling at the image he pulled into the garage and parked.

Leaving the gifts in the car he walked out of the garage and picked up a handful of snow and sent his missile sailing directly at the back of Dick's coat. The smaller boy turned laughing and threw a snowball at him, the three of them played for several moments before Dick and Bruce were out of breath from the cold.

Conner seemed happier now than he was when Bruce had left them this morning. Once they got in the front door Alfred met them and saw their snowy appearance.

"My word, did you all enjoy yourselves out there?"

Dick smiled wide as he handed his coat to Bruce to hang up in the closet. "Yep, I had planned on nailing Bruce with a snowball when he came out of the garage but he got me first instead!"

Bruce laughed and told him. "Never underestimate your opponent, Dick, you know this."

"Yeah, yeah I know. But it was still a fun idea!" Dick told him laughing.

Conner had just hung up his coat when he asked. "So how did the meeting go? Do I have to go to Metropolis?"

Turning around from the closet Bruce told him. "No, you are staying right here. Clark was granted the go ahead to terminate his rights, but it won't happen immediately it can take weeks or months for it to be official. Once that happens then my paperwork begins, I can fill it out, but it won't go through until he is officially no longer considered a parent."

Dick looked up at his father amused and asked. "Clark was considered a parent?"

"Dick. Don't start." Bruce told him warningly.

Alfred could see Dick slightly shiver from the cold and said. "I think a round of hot cocoa is in order, I shall prepare some and lunch should be ready shortly."

Conner nodded in approval and then asked. "What were those packages in the backseat of your car when you pulled up?"

Bruce smiled and told him. "They are Christmas presents."

Dick's eyes lit up. "Christmas! I nearly forgot about it! We don't have anything put up!"

Bruce put a hand on Dick's shoulder as the boy started to make a run for the stairs. "Hold on there boy wonder, we can do that after lunch."

Frowning in confusion Conner asked. "What's Christmas?"

"Only the best time of the year! Remember when we drove around in New York looking at the lights? Well, that's only part of Christmas! You've got presents and a lot of great food!" Dick explained excitedly.

Bruce could see the confusion still in Conner's blue eyes and said. "Come on to the dining room and I will further explain about it."

* * *

Dick raced on ahead of them as Bruce walked behind with Conner. "Dick has always been excited about Christmas, it's not so much the gifts as it is he knows I don't work during the holidays. Lucius will take over for the remainder of December while I spend time here with Dick and Alfred. I started doing that Dick's second Christmas here."

"What about his first one?" Conner asked as they got to the doorway of the dining room and saw Dick was already seated.

"Let's just say I was absent from it. I didn't have my priorities straight yet. Alfred went as far as calling me at the office and making up a false emergency to get me to come home early Christmas Eve. Even the following morning I left before 10 to go to the office, it didn't dawn on me until I got home what I had done was horrible to him. I felt bad when Alfred told me how the rest of the day went, after that, I started changing my schedule to meet Dick's needs. The following year I started a new tradition, it's been thrown out of wack this year but he doesn't seem mad about it." Bruce told him as they walked into the dining room.

Sitting beside Dick at the head of the table Conner sat across from the younger boy. Bruce smiled at them both as Alfred brought out the hot cocoa.

Letting out a sigh Bruce started to explain. "Christmas was first observed back in biblical times, it was once said that a baby was born to save mankind. He was to be the king of all creation, to celebrate his birth three wise men presented him with gifts, people came far and wide to see this little baby. At least that is what I was taught when I was younger. Nowadays it seems that it's all about gifts, trees, and Santa Clause."

Frowning Conner asked. "Who's Santa Clause?"

"He brings kids toys on Christmas morning..." Dick started to say when Bruce interrupted. "No Dick, don't give the exaggerated version. He needs to learn true facts."

Taking a sip of his hot cocoa Bruce started to explain. "The man in question was actually an elderly man from long ago that lived in another country. He wore a deep red robe and handed out toys, food, and clothing to the poor people in his village. He did so discreetly without being caught, but some children say they saw him. His name was Saint Nicholas, he was a very religious man. Over time people forgot the true meaning of Christmas and started believing this man to be called Santa Clause, who was big and fat riding in a sleigh filled with toys in a red bag driven by 9 reindeer."

"Bruce, it's 8 reindeer," Dick stated.

Bruce thought for a moment. _I could have sworn there were 9?_

Dick chuckled at Bruce's confusion and told him. "Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen."

Bruce frowned at him and told him. "Rudolph. That makes 9."

"No, Rudolph was just a made up character that someone put into a story," Dick informed him.

"Really Dick? Like the entire idea of one man traveling the world in one night delivering toys in a sleigh being pulled by 8 reindeer isn't far fetched enough? How can that even be possible?" Bruce demanded.

Dick shook his head and looked over at Conner. "He never believed in Santa as a kid evidently."

Bruce shook his head and smirked at him. "Oh, I did Dick, I used to believe in Santa, just like you used to."

Conner looked at him curiously and asked. "Why did you stop? How old were you at the time?"

Giving Dick a knowing look he answered. "I was 10, one year had gone by since my parents were murdered. The only thing I wanted from Santa was for him to bring them back… and as you can guess, that didn't happen. I remember hearing Dick ask for the same thing his first Christmas without his parents. I sat down with him and explained not to expect to see them Christmas morning, Santa doesn't have that kind of power, not with all the magic and wonder he has in him. So on Christmas morning I presented him with an enlarged photo of his parents."

"The one that hangs in the living room?" Conner questioned.

Nodding Bruce told him. "Yes, at one time it was in the first-floor study, but I had Alfred move it to the living room since Dick spends more time in there than in the study."

Dick smiled with a hint of tears in his eyes. "I remember coming downstairs on Christmas morning, in a way, I did get my parents back. Granted it was a large photo of them, to an 8-year-old orphan it was good enough."

"Wow, I can't imagine what that must have been like… for both of you."

Bruce let out a sigh and lightly put his hand on the table. "Well, enough about the past, what would you boys like for Christmas?"

Both boys looked at each other, Conner spoke first. "You don't have to get me anything, you adopting me is enough."

 _That figures_ Bruce thought before looking over at Dick. Who was thinking hard.

"I have everything I want. The only thing I can think of is a _Black Ops_ game or something like that. You know I'm not picky, I'll accept whatever you give me."

"I know Dick, but you can't blame me for trying. Well how about we get this place decorated for the holidays. We've been so busy that we forgot all about our tradition." Bruce told them.

Dick's eyes lit up as he jumped up and said. "Come on Conner! I'll show you where we keep the Christmas stuff!"

Dick raced from the room before Conner had the chance to get up. Looking over at Bruce he asked. "So where is he headed?"

"Fourth floor, at the end of the hall you'll come to a door on your left, that leads to the attic where the Christmas stuff is," Bruce told him.

Grinning Conner stood up and said. "Sounds good to me."

Bruce had to laugh as Conner disappeared in the blink of an eye. Shaking his head he looked up at Alfred. "Gotta love his super-speed."

* * *

Dick had just rounded the corner to the second floor when a flash went by him nearly knocking him off balance. "Dang, it Conner! No fair!"

Running at full speed up the remaining two floors he found Conner leaning against the wall at the end of the hall.

"That was so not funny," Dick told him as he walked up.

Leaning lazily against the wall Conner asked him. "So what took you so long?"

"Oh hush. Come on let's get this stuff." Dick said as he opened the attic door.

They climbed the short amount of stairs to the attic where it was filled with old memorabilia from the past, as well as numerous other items. Conner couldn't help but look around at some of the things up there. He saw a trophy with the name 'Thomas Wayne' engraved below on a plaque.

"Hey, Dick? Who's Thomas Wayne?"

Turning from where he was moving a couple of boxes he replied. "That's Bruce's dad, his mom's name was Martha. Bruce doesn't talk about them much if I do something that is similar to something he's ever done as a kid he will mention them or tell me a short story. But unless he's prompted he won't talk willingly about them."

Nodding he put the trophy down and helped Dick carry the Christmas decorations downstairs, once everything was out Dick noticed Bruce standing by the front door with his coat and boots on.

"Dick, Conner, come on boys lets go get us a Christmas tree," Bruce told them as he handed Dick his coat.

Conner got his coat out of the closet and looked up at Bruce. "Where are we going?"

Bruce looked down at Dick then over at Conner. "I continued a tradition that my father used to do with me. Dick's first Christmas that we celebrated together we went out and cut a tree down and brought it back to the Manor and decorated it."

"Where do we go to get one?" Conner asked as he followed the two out of the Manor and to the truck parked out front.

"On the edge of my property I have a tree farm, I donate most of the 5 and 6-foot trees to small businesses, take a larger one to Wayne Enterprise, and have a large one at the Manor. I don't sell them, some people can't afford to buy a Christmas tree so I put out an add in the paper every year. I have some men that go out and cut down a tree for the families that want a tree." Bruce explained as he turned the engine over and pulled out of the driveway and through the gate.

Driving out to the gravel road that led to the Tree Farm, once there he pulled into the lot and told the boys. "Alright, go find us the perfect tree. I don't care what size. Just so long as it will fit through the front door."

Dick smiled wide as Conner got out and followed the energetic 13-year-old. Bruce pulled the keys from the ignition and got out himself. He watched Dick show Conner the trees and point out which trees were good ones and ones to avoid.

 _This almost seems so natural to have both boys going through this time of year and celebrating Christmas together. I want Conner's first Christmas to be memorable for him._ Bruce thought as he watched them. Dick finally slowed down and yelled out.

"We found one! And it's pretty good size! Hopefully, you won't be whelmed by it!"

Bruce walked over and looked up at the massive 10-foot tree. "Dick, this one's bigger than last years tree."

"It will fit in the living room," Dick told him.

"The ceiling's only 14 feet high that's only going to give the tree a four-foot clearance to the ceiling. Choose another one that's slightly shorter."

"You said size doesn't matter." Dick pointed out.

Bruce sighed. "Alright, you win, but don't complain when you can't reach the top of the tree. And no you are not using Conner's powers to get the star on the top. I'm stating that right now, I don't want him to jump threw the ceiling and into the next floor of the manor."

Conner chuckled at that and asked. "Maybe Clark can help? He can fly at least, I might some day but not right now."

Bruce grinned and told him. "Good point, but I have a ladder we can use. We don't need to call on Clark for everything, and he's got a lot going on right now too."

Bruce used the chainsaw he had taken out of the bed of his truck and told the boys. "Hold her still while I cut her down. When she starts to lean just let her fall but don't let her fall on you or another tree."

Both boys nodded and held on to the trunk while Bruce cut it. He raised an eyebrow when the tree didn't fall. _Did I seriously think that the tree would fall while Conner was holding it?_

Laughing at himself he turned the chainsaw off and told Conner. "Go ahead and take it to the truck, do you want to ride in the bed of the truck while we take it home and hold on to the tree?"

Shrugging Conner replied. "Sure, I don't mind."

Once everything was situated they took off back to the Manor and got the tree put up. Dick began putting the ornaments up on the tree one by one as Bruce handed them to him. Conner took the glass balls and put hooks on them and hung them up from the ladder.

"So Dick, when you came to live here, did you have any Christmas stuff come with you?" Conner asked while he hung up a bright red ball on the tree.

Dick looked up at him for a moment before going to the box beside Bruce and dug through it. Bringing out a little boy in a night cap with the words: Baby's First Christmas. On it, he showed it to Conner.

"My parents gave this to me when I was a baby, for my first Christmas in fact. But we didn't get to have a tree in our trailer very often so we had very few ornaments. Most of them got broke over the years." Dick explained as he hung the ornament on the front of the tree then went back to the box.

Bruce started helping the boys by hanging some of the decorations, he looked over his shoulder at Dick who was looking through the box. After a few minutes, he held up an antique looking framed ornament with a photo in it.

Looking up at Conner again he told him. "Bruce gave this to me the first Christmas we celebrated together, which would have been my second Christmas here."

Coming down the ladder Conner looked at the photo. "That's the same picture you have in your room isn't it?"

"Yep, Bruce had it shrunk and put in here, and made an enlarged one to hang on the wall."

Conner looked over at Bruce and asked. "Can Alfred take us Christmas shopping? Since we haven't been able to go?"

"Let's finish here and I will have Alfred take you two into town," Bruce told them.

* * *

Several hours later Bruce was putting the presents he had gotten under the tree, as well as adding the ones Alfred bought for them.

Alfred and the boys were still in town when Bruce heard the front door shut, frowning slightly he went to the front hall and saw Clark standing there.

"Hey, Ma and Pa accepted your invite for dinner this evening. And they also had been busy this morning while I was at CPS with you."

In saying, he handed Bruce a large gift bag he had been holding. "It's for Conner. They've only known him for a day and they love him already."

Bruce smirked and lead the way to the living room, Clark noticed the decorations and remarked. "Wow, did you do all of this by yourself?"

"No, the boys helped, they even picked out the tree. I put some gifts I had gotten on the way home underneath it." Bruce told him.

Clark told his friend. "Oh, and we don't need to worry about going out on patrol tonight. I might have gone solo and gotten something for Conner that will help with his training."

Frowning Bruce asked. "Oh, you went to Star Labs by yourself? As Superman?"

Grinning mischievously Clark told him. "Clark Kent, I got called in to work at noon and I was given the assignment to do a report over at Star Labs. When I was doing an interview they told me that they were experimenting with this device that puts out Red Sun energy that should slow Superman down. I kept thinking _why are you telling me this?_ But I just took it like it was, Lex apparently want's to try and stop me… again. So I took it and flew out of there. I used it on myself first and found there were no negative side effects, besides what it does to my powers. When I am near the thing I can't fly, so I took a cab here."

Bruce frowned again and replied. "So you're telling me you nabbed the device knowing what it was going to do to you, flew what? 10 feet only to not get far due to exposure. Then took a cab all the way to Gotham?"

Nodding Clark told him. "Yeah, that's about the gist of it. And it takes a few minutes to take effect, so it's weak. But at least it should help Conner with his training. It's in the bag as well."

Bruce took the bag and placed it on the floor beside him. "Thanks, Clark, are they wrapped or do I need to wrap them?"

"Ma sent her and Pa's gifts wrapped in this big bag, I just through the device on top of everything. If you want to wrap it be my guest."

Kneeling down to the bag Bruce pulled out a small device about the size of a radio with only one switch saying on and off he couldn't really even tell it was supposed to be enough to take down Superman. Standing up Clark told him.

"On the side here is where it emanates a small red light that's enough to fill a small room but for some reason, it doesn't change a light bulb glow."

A thought occurred to Bruce. "Prolonged exposure won't hurt a Kryptonian will it?"

Clark smiled kindly at him and said. "No, it makes you feel really tired, so don't be alarmed if Conner wants to go to bed directly following training. I would say at first use it for 15 minutes and then shut it off, this way you can avoid him missing out on patrol due to Red Sun exposure and exhaustion. Since Conner didn't grow up on Krypton his body will react differently than mine would to Red Sun, since I was born on Krypton and was exposed longer."

Bruce nodded and told him. "OK, I can also probably schedule training for directly after school so if he's too tired he can take a nap. Will regular sunlight help re-power him faster?"

"Yes, the effects are immediate. He will be back at full strength within minutes, he's half human so it may take a few minutes as to pose with me it takes seconds."

Bruce knew a lot of this information, but he knew making sure of the information he had was important.

"So I will see you and your parents around what? Seven? I know that's a bit late but Alfred is still out with the boys Christmas shopping."

Shrugging Clark told him. "Sure, that sounds great. We can come over around 6 so Alfred has a chance to meet Ma and Pa."

"Honestly I'm surprised they won't stick around for the holidays," Bruce commented as he left the room with Clark following behind him. Going to the hall closet he pulled out some wrapping paper, tape, and a name tag. Going back to the living room he waited for Clark to respond to him.

Clark watched Bruce wrap the device up in the colorful paper before saying. "Well, they were going to… But they said they were leaving tomorrow."

"Then go with them, be glad you still have your parents here with you Clark. Take advantage of that while you can. They won't be around forever, just because you are all fighting right now doesn't mean they will stay mad at you. You three are too close to let fighting get between you. Tell you what, come over around 5 with them, it will give them more time to talk to Conner and get to know him more." Bruce told him as he placed the Red Sun device below the Christmas tree.

Looking over at the Grandfather clock Clark saw it was just after 3:30. "OK, I will go get them and be back. It may be closer to 5:30 or so..."

"That's fine," Bruce told him as they heard the front door open and Dick shout. "Bruce! Go hide! _Now_! You can't see what we got you!"

Clark laughed and told him. "You know, I don't think of this house the same way anymore since that boy came here to live with you."

"Oh hush and get your parents. I guess I have to make myself scarce for a little bit." Bruce told him as Dick ran into the room.

"I heard you, Dick, I'm going to my study, call me when it's safe for me to come down."

Smiling wide he said. "Sounds like a plan."

Conner shook his head and looked over at Bruce. "Alfred told me you never used to smile much at all until Dick came along. I can see why his energetic attitude and love for life can make anyone smile."

"So true, his happiness is contagious. OK, I better go to my study before Dick runs me off."

Conner chuckled as he went to help Alfred get the gifts from the car.

* * *

Once Alfred told Bruce it was safe for him to come out he joined Dick in the living room. Looking over at the clock it was now after 5. Clearing his throat he told them. "We are having guests for dinner tonight, oh and Conner you will probably be getting to open one of your Christmas gifts early."

Dick looked at Bruce questioningly then asked. "Clark's parents by chance?"

"Yes, they are angry with him and they need to talk. Chances are they won't fight here because they are guests."

"Sound thinking Master Bruce, do you by chance know what Mr. and Mrs. Kent like to eat?" Alfred asked.

Bruce thought for a moment, he remembered once that Clark wouldn't stop talking about his mom's spaghetti, and roast.

"I know Clark told me once that they made spaghetti quite often or roast," Bruce told him honestly.

"Surely I could put together a roast with potatoes and carrots in the allotted time, if necessary they are welcome to stay the night if it takes too long to make," Alfred replied walking towards the kitchen.

Conner stood still looking at the tree. _I wonder what started the tradition to put up a tree? I still don't get why they celebrated a baby being born that was supposed to be a king?_

Bruce saw the questioning look in Conner's eyes and asked. "Whats on your mind?"

"Why do people put up a tree if the symbol if Christmas is supposed to be a newborn baby? Or is it supposed to be this Santa character?" Conner asked sounding a little confused.

Bruce stood beside him and told him. "Well, Christmas was supposed to be about celebrating the baby. There's more to his story than what I told you, but we will do something that Dick, Alfred and I do every Christmas or at least every Sunday around Christmas time. We go to church to hear his story."

Frowning deeper Conner asked. "I thought church was about God?"

"Oh it is, but you see that baby is his son. No one is totally sure on the exact day of his birth so centuries ago someone chose December 25th as his birthday. Since it's not written down anywhere, they do know however that he was born within a week of the new year." Bruce explained.

"Did you always celebrate Christmas?" Bruce looked over at Dick before answering. "No, well not since my parents had died. The first time I celebrated Christmas since their deaths was when Dick had been here just over one year. I still feel guilty about that, but like Alfred keeps reminding me. 'you can't live in the past forever.' I have tried to re-start my parent's traditions from when I was a boy, I almost found it too painful to do until Dick started a tradition that we keep going."

"What's that?" Conner asked when Bruce didn't continue.

"Dick's third Christmas was when it started, he came up with the idea to share at least one positive memory about our parents growing up. For him, the time was much shorter as his memory span doesn't go beyond 5. I can remember being 3 so I have a few more years on him for memories."

They were interrupted by the doorbell, Dick made a mad dash for the front door shouting. "I got it!"

Conner shook his head and told Bruce. "Has he always had this much energy?"

"Yes, there are days I wonder if his name shouldn't have been ' _Kid Flash'_ instead of ' _Robin_ '. But I know he's just a happy child, I was never as excitable as he is. I don't deny that I was depressed for a long time, too long perhaps. It may sound selfish of me, but there are days I wish Dick had been my child from the beginning. He pulled me out of my depression in more ways than just one, it could be I had a new focus when I took him in." Bruce told him honestly.

Conner gave him a half smile and then said. "You know, maybe you should adopt more children? Not just me and Dick."

Bruce shook his head and told him chuckling. "You never know what the future holds in store, I would go through all this again just to make a child happy."

Conner asked one more question because he could hear voices from the front hall getting closer. "What would you really do if you found out you had a child that you didn't know about?"

Bruce looked up just as Clark and his parents walked in. "I would accept him or her with open arms."

"You say that now because of what's happening with me, but would you really?" Conner asked.

Looking the teenager directly in the eye he told him. "Yes, I absolutely would."

* * *

Martha wandered into the kitchen and saw Alfred preparing dinner. "So you must be Alfred?"

Turning from the roast he was preparing he said. "Yes, Madam I am Alfred."

Walking over Martha looked down at the roast and started giving Alfred advice on how to make it truly succulent. Before Alfred knew it the two were swapping recipes and telling stories of their mothers and their ways of cooking when they grew up.

Clark walked into the kitchen and saw the two, shaking his head he walked back out and to the living room where Dick was reading 'T'was The Night Before Christmas' to Conner.

Bruce sat back in his favorite recliner and listened to the story, it had become a tradition when he had grown up to read this book before Christmas. He gave the old worn out book to Dick many years before when he read it Dick's first Christmas, they may not have celebrated the holiday that year, but Alfred insisted at least that the boy listens to the story. Looking over at Clark Bruce noticed a far off look in the older man's eyes. He didn't want to disrupt Dick's reading so he waited for the boy to finish, after a few more minutes he finished.

They all sat in silence as the fire crackled softly from the fireplace and the soft sound of Christmas music played on the radio on the mantle.

"Bruce, this is a mighty fine house you have here. I got a little turned around when I went to find the john but after finding it I couldn't help but explore."

Turning he looked over at Clark's father and said. "Thank You Johnathan, I'm pretty proud of it."

Johnathan sat next to his son and asked. "So has this house been in the family long or just since your parent's passed?"

"My family settled here from overseas, they built this house right over a cave system without knowing it. It's been passed down from generation to generation, I hope one day to pass it down to Dick."

"You planning on having kids of your own someday? You know, biologically?"

Bruce leaned back in his chair and told him. "Probably not, I would rather adopt honestly. There are so many children out there that don't have homes. I know I can't take them all in, but I can at least do my part by helping some."

"You think you may adopt again? After taking in Conner?"

"You never know what the future holds Johnathan, we each have our own destiny. Taking on 2 teenage boys may not be the end of mine, but who knows. I never planned on having kids, not even adopted before taking in Dick. It just happened, one minute I was standing there in the circus tent and the next I rescued that little boy from the detention center. It's funny how life throws curve balls, I don't regret a single day that goes by." Bruce told him, he noticed how Dick and Conner went from talking silently to each other to listening in.

Johnathan looked over at the boys then back to Bruce. "How long have these two really known each other?"

"Nine months now, Dick along with two of his friends rescued him from Cadmus back in March," Clark explained to his father.

"Did you guys know what Cadmus was doing?"

"We suspected that they were creating something, and were up to no good. The Justice League were not making it the top priority at first until three wayward teens ran off after turning off their trackers. Lucky for us Robin didn't shut off all of his trackers. Granted Aqualad and Kid Flash had shut theirs off, Robin knew better..."

"Yea, if I had shut off all of mine, I would so be grounded. Good thing too cause the compound blew up. We didn't have a way back to Mount Justice." Dick told him.

Clark shook his head and gave Bruce a knowing look. "I think enlight of everything that happened you boys were lucky, besides if it wasn't for you leading the team to Cadmus you never would have formed the Young Justice team. You went from a group of three to five pretty quickly."

"There's seven of us now." Conner reminded him.

"The number just keeps growing. So Bruce if you do take on another kid after Conner are you going to put them on the team too?" Jonathan asked.

"Only if he or she wants to, I'm not forcing them to. Heck, I didn't force Dick to become Robin, it just happened." Bruce answered honestly.

Johnathan was curious about all of this and asked. "How do you mean it just happened? You become a vigilante overnight?"

"Not really, you see I had been tracking down the man responsible for his parent's murder when he found out I was Batman he wanted to help. I told him, no, but he had other plans, donned a costume and snuck out. Granted if it wasn't for him the man would never have been brought to justice. The killer managed to overpower me and had me strapped to a knife throwing target at the circus. Dick showed up and created the perfect distraction so I could work on getting free. After the police arrived we both agreed that Bruce Wayne didn't have what it took to raise him, but Batman did. So he called himself Robin and that's how Robin was born." Bruce told him, the man already knew their identities so it's not like he had anything to really hide anymore.

Nodding his head they looked up to see Martha come back into the room and walk over to the tree, she picked up their gift to Conner and handed it to him.

"Here, we want you to open this now, I don't know if we will be back this way for Christmas or not." Martha took a seat beside her husband.

Conner looked nervously from the package in his hand to Bruce then back again. "Go on Conner, it's alright." Bruce encouraged gently.

Inside the bag was several small items inside and a couple of medium boxes. Taking out one of the boxes he tore the Santa paper away and opened the white box inside.

Opening it up he found a dark blue sweater, he picked it up and held the soft material in his hands. "Thank you, Mrs. Kent, this is really nice."

The four superheroes knew Conner never got cold, and certainly, Martha would have known that, but they humored her and didn't say a word. Setting it aside he pulled out another medium size box and opened it as well. This time it was a black tee-shirt with a pocket on the front.

"Thank you, this is nice." He wasn't sure what to say but Conner figured thanking someone for a gift was the right thing to do.

"Your welcome son, now the next two I think you will find more interesting," Jonathan told him.

Pulling out one of the last two gifts he opened it up to find a black wrist watch that was waterproof up to 100 meters.

"Oh sweet! You could so use that for when we go on missions that we have to go underwater!" Dick told him.

Conner looked over at Johnathan and thanked him. He took out the last gift and saw on the name tag it didn't have Martha or Johnathan's names on it, but Clark's. Giving the older man a questioning look he unwrapped the paper from the small item. It was a necklace with a white crystal on the center.

"It's from Krypton, I had a bunch of these in my space ship when I landed. A lot of them have disappeared over the years. But I have some left that I kept in a box back in Kansas, I figured you would like to have one too since your half-Kryptonian." Clark explained.

"Does it do anything?" Conner asked.

Clark shook his head. "No, instead of rocks like what Earth has, Krypton has crystals that form around cooler climate areas of the planet. At my Fortress of Solitude, I have a couple of large ones and a lot of little ones. I made this one into a necklace for you, most teenagers from Krypton wear them. Or at least that's what I've been told."

"I thought we were the only Kryptonians left?"

"We are, you see my father, my biological father, he sent me with information about Krypton for when the day came that I learned about my home planet. He knew the planet was crumbling, and would one day be destroyed. So shortly after my birth, he sent me into space, he really had no idea where I would end up. I was knocked off course by a meteor shower and thrown into this galaxy where I eventually crashed in Kansas." Clark explained to the confused boy. He never thought the day would come he would be explaining this to a fellow Kryptonian.

"How long did you float in space?" Conner asked curiously.

Shrugging Clark told him honestly. "That I don't know, from what I've been told I was around two years old human years. I could actually be older, but we don't know for sure how many light-years there are between Krypton and Earth. You see, we don't age like humans do, I could still easily pass for 20 and I'm in my 30's. You may be stuck looking like your 16 while your body ages internally."

"So you stopped aging after 20?" Conner asked.

Bruce, Martha, Dick and Johnathan all remained silent, this was the first time the two had actually had a conversation like this and both of Clark's parents could tell by Bruce's reaction.

"Yes, so when I get to say, 70 I will still look 20."

"Bet that will be annoying, look like your still young when you're old," Conner remarked.

"I suppose it's going to be worse for you, though because remember your going to stay 16 physically while you age internally. Kryptonians don't age like humans, or at least not on Earth they don't if we were on Krypton things would be different."

Conner had one last question. "Will I ever learn to fly? Or will I be stuck jumping the rest of my life."

"My abilities came with time Conner, Heat Vision came when I was about 17, X-Ray vision thankfully didn't happen until I was in my late teens, flying at about 15, couldn't control my super-hearing until I was 20 or so. They will develop in time, we just don't know when. With you being half human it could take you a while to develop the abilities, right now you may have to stick with jumping and super-speed."

"So I could be your age before I have my full abilities?"

"It's possible, yes, but given some training, you should develop them sooner or later. With flying you may get sooner if you're trained correctly, I promised Bruce I would help a little with your training. Unless it's in the Batplane he can't fly, so we can work on that and try and get you flying soon. I had to work at it myself. The first time I jumped high I wound up in the next county before I figured out what happened."

Martha and Johnathan laughed as the remembered the day well. "I remember that you tried jumping over something and flew for the first time," Johnathan told him laughing slightly at the memory.

"I still remember the day he took out the woodshed when he discovered he could jump higher than a building," Martha told them.

"Ok, we are _not_ discussing my errors in learning how to control my abilities," Clark told them with humor in his voice.

Conner gave a chuckle as Dick started laughing, Bruce just looked amused at his friend's embarrassment.

Conner held in his laughter as he asked Martha. "How old was he?"

Thinking back Martha told him. "Nine or Ten I think, no one was hurt which was the best part, but the roof had to be replaced along with a lot of the things inside the shed."

Clark shook his head in disbelief as his parents kept telling Conner stories from his childhood. This continued until Alfred came to the rescue informing them of dinner being ready. After they ate it was too late for Martha and Johnathan to head back to Metropolis so they stayed at the Manor including Clark since he was taking them to the airport the following morning.

* * *

 **A/N:** So sorry guys, I meant to have this out Monday, but the week had been too crazy along with the weekend. I would love to know your reactions.


	17. Conner's First Christmas part 2

Clark woke up early the next morning to Dick knocking on the door, laying there he shouted. "It's open."

Dick came in and walked over to the bed. "Hey, Alfred says breakfast is almost ready, he got up early so that you guys could eat before you left."

Sitting up on the side of the bed Clark ran a hand through his messed up bed hair. "Alright, I'll be down in a few minutes."

"OK see you soon," Dick replied as he left the room and went to wake Conner up.

He saw the older boy laying in bed still sleeping peacefully. Taking note that he had earplugs in he shook his shoulder gently. Conner reached up and took the plug out of one ear and asked.

"Time to get up already?" Groaning as he sat up.

"Yep, I thought you had control of your super-hearing? Why did you wear your earplugs?" Dick asked as Conner removed the remaining plug and set them aside on his table.

"Mr. Kent snores like a freight train, I could hear him from down the hall. I'm actually surprised he didn't wake anyone else up." Conner explained as he got up out of bed.

Dick laughed and told his friend. "I bet that's how Clark learned how to control his super-hearing."

Both boys laughed as they left the room, both were still in night clothes.

* * *

Going downstairs they entered the dining room and saw Bruce and Jonathan sitting at the table talking.

They looked up when the boys entered. "Good morning boys," Jonathan told them with a smile.

"Where's Mrs. Kent?" Conner asked. "She's in the kitchen with Alfred, I swear, she's going to be a tough one to remove from this house now that she's made a friend," Jonathan told him.

Both boys sat next to each other on one side of Bruce while Jonathan sat across from them.

Turning his attention away from Jonathan Bruce asked. "Did you boys sleep alright?"

"Yeah, can we go outside for a while this morning?" Dick asked.

Bruce looked at him concerned, he knew the boys were old enough, heck they did most of the time for the past year live at the Mountain with little to no supervision. But the protective father and mentor told them.

"I have to go into the office for a little while, and Alfred decided he would take the Kent's to the airport. I don't mind just don't do anything dangerous while no one is home."

Dick sat up straighter in his chair and replied. "Cool, but, you never go to the office this time of December?"

Bruce could see the sadness start to form in the boy's blue eyes and said. "Dick, I'm only going for about 2 or 3 hours. I promise I will be home for lunch."

"But why today? You never go to work during the holidays." Dick complained.

Bruce frowned and told him. "Do you want to come with me? Is that why your complaining?"

Dick looked over at Conner then to Bruce. Conner noticed the worried expression and told the younger boy. "If you want to go it's fine, I can manage here. I might even go to the mountain to visit Wolf and see M'Gann."

Martha and Clark came into the dining room just as Dick told him. "OK, I guess I'll go with you, Bruce."

"So where are you boys off too?" Martha asked sitting next to her husband while Clark sat next to Conner.

Conner glanced over at her and then said. "I'm going to Mount Justice for a little bit and Dick is going with Bruce to the office."

"Well honey, why don't you come with us to the airport? I'm sure Alfred can bring you back home." Martha offered.

 _I have only known these people for a couple of days, do I really feel comfortable being in the same car with them. But it's only to the airport, and Clark's gonna be there. Alfred too._

As Alfred passed out plates to everyone Clark whispered quietly to Conner. "If you're nervous about being around my parents, just remember I'm there too and so is Alfred. You'll be fine. They won't try and take you away from Gotham, I promise you that."

Conner nodded and then answered Martha. "Sure, Bruce is that OK?"

Giving the boy a smile he told him. "Yes, that's fine. When you get back if you want to you can go and get Wolf and bring him home with you. Have Wallace or Clark help you bring some of his supplies that you have at the mountain so we can get him set up. Alfred bought the cooler we need and it's in the pantry fully stocked and ready for him."

Conner smiled and told him. "That's cool."

Martha gave them a questioning look before asking. "Who's Wolf?"

"The team went on a mission some months back and found a bunch of animals that were mutant hybrids. One of them was a large hybrid wolf that Conner rescued, the animal didn't want to leave his side after the rescue. So Batman and I agreed he could keep him, but, Wolf had to stay at Mount Justice. He could go on missions away from populated areas if the situation was necessary, Wolf is Superboy's sidekick." Clark explained to his parents.

"How big is Wolf?" Johnathan asked curiously.

"Bigger than a miniature horse," Clark told his father.

"That's a big wolf, how much does he eat?" Martha asked. Conner glanced over at her and replied. "Not much really, he's in really good shape."

There was no more talk about Wolf as everyone ate, once breakfast was over the boys went and got dressed.

* * *

Conner sat in the back of the limo next to Clark, for some reason he felt nervous about being around strangers. These elderly people might have raised Clark but he certainly didn't know them well enough to strike up a conversation.

The silence was deafening in the back of the limo as they drove countryside of Gotham headed towards the airport just outside of Metropolis.

Clark cleared his throat and asked. "So Pa, how's the farm going? Do you need any help repairing fences next spring?"

Johnathan had been watching the wintry scene pass by outside when Clark had spoken. "I don't think so, but come April I will go out and see if the winter storms damaged anything."

"I know the last time we talked you said something about selling most of the cattle? Is that still the plan?" Clark asked gently.

"At least half of them I plan to sell, I just can't keep up with it anymore. There aren't many young people left in Smallville that is willing to help an old man anymore. I still have the horses, they are actually easier to care for than the cattle."

Conner looked up at Clark slightly confused, he didn't have much of an idea of what they were talking about.

Noticing the boys confusion Clark pulled out his cell phone and typed in a search. Showing Conner what cattle and horses were he told his father. "You remember back at the Manor when we were talking about Conner's wolf?"

"Yea, I recall that."

"There were some cattle there too, from a video feed I received from Robin it looks like the cattle were stolen from the farm." Pulling up the video in question he handed his father the phone.

Johnathan watched and then told his boy. "Yeah, that looks like one of mine. But all the dang cows look alike. What ever came of it?"

Clark had brought that up for a reason and nudged Conner to answer.

"They are all safe, the area was secure once the mission was over. Once we removed the control collars the animals were free. There was nothing lost during the mission." Conner finished explaining.

Clark grinned seeing his father's confused look at the last statement. "He means there were no casualties. Bruce has been trying to help him with his speech."

Nodding in understanding Martha asked the teen. "So every summer we always have a barbecue to celebrate the Fourth of July do you think you and Richard would like to come and join in on the fun? He comes once in a while to get out of Gotham City."

Looking up at Clark then back to Martha he answered. "Sure, as long as we don't have a mission that day."

Smiling at the boy she told him. "I would understand if you couldn't make it."

Johnathan looked between the two across from him and his wife and asked. "So Conner, how fast can you run? I know Clark can run as fast as Flash."

"We are not sure about how far my powers can go, I don't have heat vision, x-ray vision, and can't fly. I know I can run fast but Kid Flash outruns me. We haven't tested my running yet to know how fast I am. I'm sure Batman will be testing that next. He's helped me control my landings when I jump from place to place." Conner told him.

"Maybe they will develop over time like Clark's powers did," Martha told him.

"Maybe, but Dick and I found out I can throw objects from at least half a mile away..." He looked away after that statement.

"Oh, how did you find out?" Johnathan asked.

"Dick and I were throwing rocks, using trees as targets, well. A woodpecker startled me just as I was getting ready to throw a rock. I missed the tree, we didn't know until Bruce contacted us that we had hit the mansion. I felt really bad about busting out a window in Bruce's study, he said that the rock must have lost some of its speed and bounced off of something before hitting a window on the second floor. He was angry at first but he calmed down when Clark showed up, Bruce told me and Dick to board up the window."

"Ah so that's what you needed the stained glass for, you said you were repairing a friend's window. So that's what happened." Johnathan said with some humor in his voice.

Conner looked over at them sheepishly and said. "I half expected Bruce to want to send me back to Mount Justice because I broke the window. He told me that wasn't a good enough reason and that it was just an accident. He told me no real harm was done, no people got hurt that was the main thing. Dick got a lecture about testing my powers without him present."

Martha laughed and told him. "You should have seen Clark when he was testing his powers at your age if I remember right we had to do frequent repairs to the barn when he would throw something or kick it hard enough to break something."

"Not the stories again Ma. The kid doesn't need to know this stuff." Clark complained.

Conner couldn't help but look up at Clark who was clearly embarrassed by the stories.

"You took out a barn?" Conner asked.

Clark looked at him and replied. "Not the entire barn, just part of one wall. That in which I repaired since I wrecked it."

Johnathan chuckled and told Conner. "Just wait son, we have more stories from where that came from."

Alfred rolled the divider down and announced. "We are arriving at the airport now."

Clark let out a sigh of relief as they parked and helped unload the trunk of the couple's bags they brought with them.

"Clark honey, are you coming over Christmas Eve?" Martha asked as they began to board the Wayne Jet that Bruce insisted upon them using instead of going a commercial route.

Clark told them as he gave them both a hug. "Yes, I am sorry how the last couple of days have gone, please understand why I am doing this. If I didn't care about the boy, then I wouldn't be going through the motions of doing all of this adoption stuff. Bruce Wayne is a better father figure than I would ever hope to be. He's been a father a hell of a lot longer than me. He knows how to help a child with emotional behavior problems. Conner's the flip side to what Dick wanted to be. When I first met him he was a very angry child, and that was before Robin came into the picture."

He looked around as he said that then continued when the coast was clear. "I see how far that child has come and it's Bruce's influence that has helped him so much along the way. Conner's needs come first before my needs, I know that. Bruce knows how to juggle a busy lifestyle on top of child rearing. I don't, so please understand that I am doing this for Conner's own good. You will still get to know him, I promise you that, Bruce even promised that too."

Martha and Johnathan hugged their son and Johnathan told him. "I know that son, I am just disappointed that you waited so long to do something. That you ignored him for so long that he felt unloved and unwanted. I can see the pain in his eyes that you have pushed him away. We still love you Clark no matter what."

As they got on the plane Conner asked. "You think they will still bug you to taking me in?"

Clark chuckled, he was getting used to the way Conner talked. "Probably, but they are just going to have to live with my decision. Come on, let's get back to the city."

"You're not staying in Metropolis?" Conner asked as they walked back to the limo.

Putting a hand on the teen's shoulder he said. "No, I want to see how your first Christmas goes. Besides, I can go to my parent's house Saturday night and be back by Sunday morning."

"Not fair that you can fly so fast to go from one place to another so much," Conner complained as he got back into the limo.

Shutting the door Clark told him. "You'll learn some day. Besides, I thought we could practice while Bruce and Dick are in the city. We will still go get Wolf, but I want to teach you something first."

Looking at Clark stunned Conner asked. "You want to show me something? Seriously?"

Smirking Clark told him. "It's not like Bruce can teach you to fly now can he?"

Looking at Conner from across the back of the limo Clark told him softly. "Look, Conner, I haven't been fair to you for months now. I want you to understand that I am placing you up for adoption not because I just don't want you. It's because I don't have what it takes to raise you properly."

"That's what Dick said about Bruce at first, but Batman seems to do just fine," Conner told him.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly he said. "I know, Bruce told me what was said that night. Superman doesn't have what it takes either, honestly, I don't have patience for young people, that's why Batman takes care of the team. I made a promise to Bruce that I would teach you how to fly and control some of your growing powers. I'm sorry for not being there in the beginning, and for being such a jerk. I understand if you don't forgive me, but I hope that my actions will speak louder than my words will. Will you give me a second chance to train you? Bruce is going to be training you in hand to hand combat. I can train you as far as your powers go."

Conner was silent for a moment before asking. "Why now? Why not before? If you didn't want me earlier why didn't you just say something to Bruce then?"

Clark hung his head in shame as the drive continued, he looked out the window at the sky as it started to cloud over. "To be honest with you, I really don't know. I guess I was just being a fool, I am really sorry for being such a jerk to you. It doesn't seem quite fair, that I treated Dick and the other kids differently than I treated you. When you went to Rome with Bruce… I shouldn't have stopped you or tried to stop you from going to Gotham City with Dick. Bruce and I had quite an argument that I am surprised you didn't hear us having."

"Dick kept talking to me, I think he knew I could have heard if I wanted to bad enough but he kept me distracted."

"He's good at that."

They were silent for the rest of the drive back to Wayne Manor, once there they went down to the Batcave and took the Zeta Tube to Mount Justice where they got Wolf and all of his supplies. Clark watched as his clone began talking to M'Gann. _I will teach him to fly another time, let him talk to his friends for now._

"Conner, come back when your done visiting. I'm taking the supplies back to the Cave OK?"

Nodding Conner continued to talk to M'Gann until Dick text that he was back. Looking over at Wolf he said. "You ready boy? Let's go to our new home."

* * *

Once in the Batcave Wolf looked around at his surroundings, he sniffed the air and then the ground. Taking a few tentative steps out and away from Conner he began to explore his new surroundings.

Bruce sat at the computer and turned when Conner entered the cave Clark and Dick were on either side of him watching Wolf's reaction to change.

"Is it just me, or is he bigger than he was just a month ago?" Dick asked.

Bruce looked at his son. "Is that possible?"

Shaking his head they watched the pure white wolf walk over to the Batmobile and sniff all around it, then sniffed his way over to Bruce.

"It's me, Wolf, it's Batman." The animal looked him in the eye for the longest time before nudging his hand with his nose. Bruce pet him and said softly. "Good boy."

Clark watched the animal sniff Dick, his long whiskers tickling his neck making the boy laugh. "You know who I am boy, even without my sunglasses."

The long white tail began to wag back and forth as he seemed happy with part one of his new home. Conner petted the large animals head and asked. "You ready to see the upstairs?"

Dick ran for the stairs with Conner and Wolf following behind. Bruce looked up at Clark. "This is going well so far."

"Don't count your birds before they hatch Bruce. He still has to meet Alfred."

* * *

Once upstairs, Conner, Wolf, and Dick wandered throughout the house. A couple of times Conner had to stop Wolf from lifting his leg on the walls or the furniture. After going around the entire house they went out on the grounds of the mansion. Wolf ran at top speed around the entire building, Conner laughed as the animal enjoyed the outdoors.

Bruce, Clark, and Alfred stepped outside with the boys as Wolf raced around the property enjoying the freedom he found in the spacious yard.

Placing a hand on Conner's shoulder Bruce said. "I think he's happy here, I don't think I've ever seen him this active back at the mountain."

"Only when I take him for walks, he's been cooped up in the Mountain for so long he's got a lot of energy to burn. Will it be alright for him to be alone out here?" Conner told him amused.

"Yes, there is a ten-foot wall around the perimeter. Along with the gate at the end of the driveway, he's secured. I don't think he wants to leave you that's for sure." Bruce told him.

"Yea SB don't get whelmed on me, come on let's go play some video games. It's cold out here!" Dick exclaimed running back into the Manor. Conner hadn't noticed that the younger boy didn't have a coat on when they went outside.

Conner watched his pet as he raced once again around the yard. "We will let him in when he's ready," Clark told him.

* * *

It had been days since Wolf had joined the household, he did well as far as not destroying anything. With Christmas Day coming fast Clark went to Smallville with the promise to be back by the 25th.

Wolf was adjusting well to his new environment he made no trouble with Alfred and would bark to be let outside to do his business.

Saturday evening, Christmas Eve found the Wayne household sitting in the living room of Wayne Manor. In just a matter of days, the Tree had been filled with gifts for both boys along with Bruce, Alfred, and Clark.

Bruce stood in front of the tree and told Conner. "Dick told me once that his circus family celebrated Christmas both on the 24th and the 25th, so we have kept that tradition going to somewhat. We all get to open at least 2 gifts tonight then open the rest tomorrow. Since Clark will be joining us tomorrow we will be waiting for him to open presents."

"What time is he supposed to be here?" Dick asked sounding slightly annoyed that he has to wait.

"With the time difference between Smallville and Gotham being 1 hour ahead, I'd say give him till about 10 our time. Mr. and Mrs. Kent know that Clark is having Christmas Day with us so they may get up early and celebrate then send Clark here."

Turning to face the tree Bruce bent down and picked up two gifts, one for each boy. Walking over he handed them their present then went to get the second one. He handed Alfred one and kept one for himself.

Conner frowned at the uneven number. "I thought everyone got to open 2 presents?"

"You two get to, but Alfred and I don't get as much as you do and we have to have something to open tomorrow," Bruce explained as he sat down in his favorite recliner.

Dick opened his first gift to find a book he had been wanting to read. "Cool! Thanks, Bruce."

Bruce smiled and told him. "You're welcome, I couldn't find it in Gotham so I had to order it. I hope paperback is OK? I couldn't find a hardcover."

"You know I'm not picky," Dick replied as he set the book aside and picked up his next gift.

Conner tore the paper from his first gift the tag said it was from Bruce. Opening it he found a set of nightclothes. "Thank you."

"Hope the color's OK, I couldn't find that style in navy blue only in crimson," Bruce told him.

Giving him a grin he replied. "I'm not picky either."

Dick opened his next one and found it to be a Black Ops game. "Cool! We can so play this tomorrow while we are waiting on Clark to get here!"

Conner leaned over and looked at the cover. Putting his present down he picked up the next one, it was from Dick. Frowning a little he opened it, it was a book on Martial Art styles with an interactive DVD with it.

"I thought that could help with your training. There are a lot of fighting techniques in there to better help." Dick told him.

"This is cool Dick, thank you." Conner set it aside as Alfred opened his gift.

Opening the box he found he received a new dress shirt and a couple of black ties.

"Why thank you, Master Bruce."

Bruce smiled at him and told him. "A couple of your white shirts I noticed a while back were worn and needed to be replaced."

Nodding respectfully at Bruce he put the shirts down just as Bruce picked up a book. Conner leaned forward and looked at the title 'Twas The Night Before Christmas', Bruce saw the look and told him.

"This is actually something Dick brought with him from his trailer at the Circus, his mother used to read this every Christmas Eve."

The red covered book was obviously well worn as Bruce opened it to the first page and began to read. He knew Dick was far too old to be read to, but Bruce wanted to keep the tradition alive in the little boy who lost his world so many years ago.

Wolf was laying in front of the fireplace and raised his head to listen to Bruce read to the boys. Alfred noticed how Bruce's deep voice was lulling the boys asleep as he finished up the book.

Smiling Bruce told them. "I think it's time for bed."

"Not tired." Came a sleepy reply from Dick who was laying on the end of the couch half asleep. Bruce chuckled and told him.

"Come on now, you're falling asleep on the couch. Let's go, Dick." Bruce said as he got up and helped his sleepy son to his feet. Conner was already up and headed for the stairs.

Alfred began to clean up the living room by the time Bruce got back from escorting Dick to his room. "That boy, I don't know what I'm gonna do with him."

"He may be 13 but he is still like a young child at heart," Alfred said as he picked up the books off the couch and placed them on the coffee table. He knew Dick would probably read his in the morning.

After cleaning up they both retired to their respected rooms for the night.

* * *

The following morning Alfred let his 'boys' sleep in since they had to wait for Clark to arrive before opening presents. He began cooking Christmas Dinner while he waited for the family to get up, with the turkey in the oven he started some of the other food that took a while to cook.

After those preparations were complete he began making breakfast, nothing heavy on the stomach.

The smell of cooking food brought everyone in the household down to the kitchen. Dick was the first to enter and asked. "So what are we having this year? Ham or Turkey?"

"Well Master Dick, last year we had ham, so this year we are having turkey. But sir, would you mind removing Wolf from the kitchen." Alfred asked as Wolf walked by sniffing the air.

Dick chuckled and said. "He's hungry, come on Wolf, I'll feed ya."

Going into the pantry he took out the meat that Conner had set out the night before so he could feed Wolf the next morning. Taking it into the kitchen he took a knife and cut the meat up, putting it in Wolf's bowl he set it on the floor for the large animal. Wolf watched the small boy and waited patiently for him to get his food ready.

Once Dick stepped away Wolf walked over and began to eat.

"There, you shouldn't have any trouble out of him," Dick said as he washed his hands after handling the raw meat.

"Thank you, ah, good morning Master Bruce," Alfred said as he poured Bruce a cup of coffee and handed it to him.

"Morning looks like the only one not up yet is Conner. I see someone fed Wolf." Bruce said as he watched the oversized dog eat at his breakfast.

"Yeah, he was making Alfred nervous. So I fed him half of what Conner had set out last night. One of us will feed him the rest later so he doesn't stalk the table during dinner." Dick told him as he sat down at the breakfast bar beside Bruce.

Conner came in moments later and took a seat on the other side of Bruce. "Morning, hey, who fed Wolf?"

"I did, he was making Alfred nervous," Dick replied.

"And he didn't try and steal it from you?" Conner asked.

"Nope, he just watched me very closely is all he did."

Bruce looked between the two boys and asked. "He doesn't let anyone else but you feed him?"

"No one has had the guts too, Dick had tried a couple of times a while back but he would steal food from him. I always had to come and stop Wolf because the others were scared of him."

"Maybe because he knows that we are in Batman's house is why he didn't come after me?"

"That could be, but I am glad he left you alone," Conner said as Alfred set a cup of hot cocoa in front of him and one for Dick.

Bruce looked up at the clock, it was nine thirty. "It should be eight thirty in Kansas, we should be hearing from Clark soon. He's not one to sleep in on Christmas, but I don't know what their traditions are either."

Moments later the phone rang, Alfred picked it up and then handed it off to Bruce. Moments later Bruce got off the phone and told the boys.

"Go get dressed, Clark will be here in about ten minutes, he has to run to Metropolis first."

Knowing how long it was going to take Dick raced off the stool he was sitting on. Conner was already wearing the shirt that Martha had given him for Christmas and a pair of navy blue jeans. He watched his friend dart off and looked over at Bruce who put his coffee down and got up. "I think you were right, maybe he could have been Kid Flash for as fast as he is."

Bruce chuckled as he walked to the kitchen door. "At least his mouth doesn't run 100 miles an hour. I'll be right back."

Both adults laughed as Bruce walked out of the room to get ready for the day.

Within fifteen minutes Bruce came out of his room and started down the hall to the stairs, he could hear talking and knew Clark had arrived while he was in the shower.

Rounding the corner to the living room he saw the boys chatting with Clark, Conner was showing him the book he had been given. They looked up when Bruce entered the room.

"Yes! Time to open presents!" Dick exclaimed.

"Breakfast first kiddo, come on, to the dining room," Bruce told him.

Groaning he did as he was told and went with everyone else to the dining room. After they ate, quickly in Dick's case, they all went back to the living room.

Bruce looked over at Conner and told him. "Normally Dick hands out the gifts to everyone, this year you can help him. Starting next year we will rotate the job."

Dick smiled and hopped off the couch and started reading tags, Conner followed him and waited patiently, not quite sure what to do.

"Just read the tags and hand them to the person they are for," Dick explained.

Kneeling down he picked up one package after another and took them to the person they belonged to. He had a pile going for him and for Dick.

Once the tree was clear of presents he sat on the couch near Clark while Dick took up space on the floor.

Conner had placed the gift Clark had given him on the couch, Bruce kept a close eye on both Kryptonians as the device was still wrapped up, but it was so close to both of them he didn't know how they would respond to it.

Reaching over Conner picked up the present and started to open it up. It looked a little like a small radio with a flashlight on one side. Bruce stopped him before he flipped it on.

"Don't turn it on in here Conner, it's a device that mimics Red Sun energy. It will weaken your powers enough to where you can train with Dick and not risk hurting him." Bruce told him.

"How does it work?" Conner asked turning it over in his hands.

Clark reached over and pointed to the switch. "See this switch here, it will turn the device on. Switch it the other direction and it's off. You don't have to be in the beam for it to work, you just have to have it turned on. Dick won't feel any effects from it, only you. But as a fair warning, you will feel tired after using it for extended periods of time. Exhaustion is the only thing you will feel, you may feel weak when you first use it because you have never been exposed before. So take it easy the first few times until you get used to it."

Looking it over in his hands he set it down beside him and told Clark. "Thank you, but how did you get a hold of this? Didn't it affect you?"

"Yes, Alfred had to take me home when I brought it over here. I tested it on myself first, and when nothing other than the normal side effects happened I decided it was safe for you to have. You will like I said feel tired, but other than that you should be fine. Bruce and I will be with you the first several times you use it."

Nodding they continued to open their gifts they had been given, later that evening the four heroes went down to the Batcave to do some light training. Bruce had told Clark to just stay in one of the guest rooms since they were testing out Conner's Red Sun Device and no one felt like making the trip back to Metropolis after such a busy weekend. What also kept him at the Manor was the threat of a severe snow storm that was likely to hit while en-route back to the city as well.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry for the delay guys, life happens. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! And a Happy New Year!


	18. HomestudyPatrol

Two days later Bruce received a phone call while he and the boys were eating dinner. Alfred came to Bruce and informed him that Miss. May wished to speak with him.

Bruce got up from the table and went to his study and shut the door.

"Hello? Can I help you?" Bruce asked worriedly.

There were some papers being shuffled as May replied. "Yes, Bruce this is May with CPS. I would like to inform you that your application has been received and is being processed. The transfer of custody between yourself and Clark Kent has been scheduled for April, I know that's four months away, but we have to have an updated Home Study, and there will be a hearing in Family Court that you, the boy and Clark will need to be present for before the adoption can be finalized."

Bruce nodded in understanding and replied. "OK, when can we get the Home Study done?"

"Are you available Friday morning?"

Bruce thought for a moment, he flipped open his appointment book and saw he had a meeting with the board at 9. Then he had a stockholders meeting at 1. He was booked Friday but he wanted to get this done and over with.

"I have two meetings that I can't get out of, is there a way you can come by Friday evening?" Bruce was hoping this would be alright.

"What time are your meetings Mr. Wayne?" May asked.

"The first one's at nine, and unfortunately I have to be there it's with the board that one usually lasts until noon. The second one is at 1 and it will last till about 3." Bruce told her.

May sighed on her end and then said. "I understand Mr. Wayne, is there any way we can meet at 5?"

"Yes, that will give me time to get home. I will let the boys know we will be expecting company Friday afternoon. Thank you for understanding."

"It's quite alright, Bruce. I know you're a busy man who tries his best, how did Conner's first Christmas go this past weekend?"

"It went really well, Clark came by and watched him open presents. He's a good kid, he wasn't sure how to take the abundance of gifts he was given by everyone. Richard had the same reaction his first Christmas." Bruce told her.

She laughed and told him. "Sounds like everything is going very well, how is he adjusting to life living at the Mansion?"

"Shocked at first at the size alone, but Richard is helping him along with getting used to things. I have to get on to them once in a while if they get too rambunctious but boys will be boys right?"

She laughed and responded. "Yes, boys can be a handful. Alright, I have you down for 5 Friday afternoon. Thank You Mr. Wayne."

"Not a problem." Bruce hung up, he looked over to the doorway and saw Wolf standing there.

"You probably should go back to the mountain Friday for an hour or so. I really don't think Conner's social worker is going to respond to well to seeing an enormous wolf living here as well."

The large animal lowered his head and swayed his tail slightly in response. Bruce walked out of the study with Wolf following close behind. Going back downstairs he was met by two concerned sets of blue eyes waiting at the bottom of the steps.

"Conner remember last week when I had to go to work for a little bit?"

"Yeah, is something wrong?" Conner asked concerned.

Dick gave a slight smile, he tried not to let Conner know he knew something.

"No actually, your social worker will be here Friday around 5 to do what's called a Home Study. It's part of the adoption process. What will happen is she will study how we run the home and how you're adjusting to life living here. She will also make sure that the home is up to code. I have one with CPS already on file but this is just to update it. So any notes she takes will be for adding to the already existing file."

Conner gave him a knowing look and asked. "So, you were filling out the adoption papers last week? They were sent to your office?"

"Yes, Dick knew about it, but I asked him not to tell you until I heard from CPS. We don't have a date yet for the adoption but we have a month, and that's a start."

"What month?" Dick asked curiously.

"April, but we have to attend family court to transfer custody between me and Clark. He doesn't have a date yet or a month. So within the next 3 months, we should know something." Bruce told them.

"You had to have one for me right?" Dick asked curiously.

Nodding Bruce replied. "Yes, Dick, I had to do a Home Study for you. But this is not like the first one, this one is just to update my first one. Conner's older than you were, and your situations are completely different. She doesn't have to do an inspection thankfully like the first time around."

"I bet you got scared if she asked to see the basement," Conner told him.

"Not really Conner, there really is a basement before you get to the Batcave," Bruce informed him.

Dick chuckled and told him. "Yea, I made the same comment when I found out he was Batman and also found out about the home inspection he had to do."

"Are we gonna go on patrol tonight?" Conner asked.

"We really should, we haven't gone in over a week. How about we get some training in beforehand, you seemed to do just fine with the Red Sun Device Clark gave you." Bruce replied.

Conner looked down at Dick and asked. "What do you say?"

Dick smiled wide and said. "You're on!"As he raced from the front hall towards the entrance to the Batcave.

Bruce shook his head as they followed him.

Wolf came down the stairs and trotted after them when he found the cave entrance he found that they had gone down without him. Letting out a soft whimper he went to go find the next person that could open the door for him.

Going into the living room he found Alfred dusting the mantle. Alfred looked over and saw Wolf standing by the edge of the couch.

"I believe the boys went to find out what Master Bruce's phone call as about."

He noticed Wolf cocked his head to the side and whined again, but this time gave a soft bark.

"Not there you say? Well, then they all must have gone down to the Batcave. Would you like me to take you there?"

Wolf perked up at the sound of that. "As I suspected, if you will follow me I will take you."

Alfred lead the large animal to the clock in the study, activating the switch he opened it up and told Wolf. "Surely you can find your way from here?"

Wolf studied the old man for a moment then nosed his hand and gave a gentle lick before going down to the Batcave.

Alfred gave him a slight smile before saying. "You are quite welcome."

* * *

Bruce was putting his cowl on when he heard a soft howl out in the cave. Stepping out of the changing room he saw Wolf walking around sniffing the cool cave air. "If you're looking for Conner you will find him in the training room already with Robin. Come one let's go join them."

Batman and Wolf walked into the training room and found Robin and Superboy warming up before training.

Batman announced to Superboy. "Turning on the Red Sun."

Flipping the switch one section of the room glowed in a dull red. Superboy stood still for a few moments then turned to Robin. "Ready to spar?"

"Oh yeah, I'm feeling the aster!"

Superboy laughed slightly as they sized each other up and began to spar. It felt nice to not worry about hurting his friend as they sparred in the training room.

Batman watched from the sidelines as the boys had their fun. After almost fifteen minutes went by Bruce told them to stop and he turned off the Red Sun Device.

"Ok, Superboy I want you to spar with me. Give me everything you've got OK?"

Superboy knew that he had to use the device when he sparred with Robin, but not with Batman. They could hear the Zeta tube announce an arrival just as Batman and Superboy began their sparring match.

Superman entered and watched the two, he was impressed at what he was seeing. Batman glanced over at him and then said. "Why don't you show him the new move Dick taught you?"

Superboy looked concerned and said. "But I have only done that move outdoors?"

"It's OK, the ceilings are pretty high in here, you'll be OK. Just like you practiced."

Superboy backed up to the edge of the mats and took a running start and jumped into the air, he remembered to judge how high he went by flipping mid-air and gently landing back on the other side of the mat over Batman's head.

"Good job Superboy, you're really getting the hang of jumping. Did you show Batman what I showed you?"

Shaking his head he told Batman. "You might want to step back, I haven't done this inside yet."

Batman glanced over at Superman and asked. "This isn't going to cost me a new ceiling is it?"

"It shouldn't, he can't go very far. Yet. At least." Superman answered.

Superboy stepped back to the wall and then took a running start, then knelt down slightly and pushed off the mat with one arm raised in the air. He hovered over the mat for about 10 seconds before doing a flip in mid-air and landing again.

"That landing was new, but he can hover for 10 seconds," Superman told his old friend.

"I'm impressed good job Superboy. So Superman what's with the unexpected visit?" Batman said.

Pointing back to the main part of the cave he replied. "I brought Superboy's cycle over from Mount Justice, I figure it could help if you three ever needed to split up."

Superboy grinned and told him. "Thank you."

Robin looked down at his watch and saw it was sundown. "Can we go patrolling now? Superboy has his bike, we can take all three vehicles."

Suddenly an alarm went off on the Batcomputer, all four heroes raced out to the main room to see the flashing Bat-signal pulsating on the large screen. Pressing a button on the console they watched the news report.

" _Mr. Freeze has escaped Arkham Asylum all citizens are to remain in their homes and off the streets, Commissioner Gordon and his men are making attempts to stop Freeze but he has frozen half the block."_

Wolf began to growl low from behind all of them. "Not this time boy, maybe next time you can come, but from what Robin's told me this isn't someone you need to get involved with," Conner told his loyal friend.

Batman moved for the Batmobile and said. "Superboy, you and Robin head out and wait for orders from on top of the nearest buildings. Robin, I want you to stay on top of the larger building and wait for further instructions when I get there."

"Since I'm here, do you want my help too?" Superman asked the Dark Knight.

Batman thought about it, _we could split up evenly…_ "Sounds good, we can have the boys team up and go to one side causing a distraction while we come in from the other side."

"Divide and concur, good strategy," Superman said as he took off out the entrance with Batman following behind in the Batmobile and the boys behind him on their bikes.

* * *

Once in Gotham the boys split up and caused a distraction for Mr. Freeze. With all the ice he was throwing around it was hard to tell the difference if it was his doing or nature as they had a storm just the night before.

Freeze looked up on the rooftops and stated. "I see you don't recall our encounters, Boy Wonder? You know you will never stop me."

Aiming his freeze gun he pulled the trigger only for Superman to fly in the path and say. "Nice try Freeze."

Conner took in a deep breath and blew it out hard causing the freeze gun to fly out of Mr. Freeze's hand. Batman came up from behind and sent an exploding Batarang at Freeze's feet causing him to fall to the unforgiving pavement below. Robin shot off his grapple gun and swung down beside his mentor, Superman and Superboy both landed on the other side of the dynamic duo.

"You might as well give it up Freeze! You're outnumbered four to one!" Robin announced.

Freeze laughed at him and pressed a button on his wrist, there was a circular pulse coming from the device and Batman shielded Robin as Superman stood in front of them both.

Freeze shot out a blast of ice and froze all three heroes in their tracks. Superboy looked at them and then lunged at Freeze knocking the man down. Taking ahold of his wrist he broke the device and said. "Don't ever try that again!"

Just then men surrounded him from all sides pointing freeze guns at him. "Seriously?" Conner said as he got to his feet.

Taking a deep breath he blew again hard at the swarm and knocked them all down, this gave Superman time to use his heat vision to free himself along with Batman and Robin.

Robin acted quickly when one of the men behind them decided to fire a bullet instead of ice. He took out his bird-a-rang and thew it knocking the gun out of the man's hand as he rolled out of the way. Batman turned and jumped to the side to avoid the bullet coming his way once Robin moved.

The battle went on for a few more moments before the Police arrived on the scene. Superman took off so no one would wonder why the Metropolis Superhero was in Gotham City.

Superboy and Robin hi-fived each other as the police arrived. Batman through them a look to settle down as Commissioner Gordon stepped out of his patrol car.

Approaching Gordon told Batman. "Good work tonight, that new boy of yours seems to be working out pretty well."

"Thank you, Commissioner, yes Superboy is doing very well," Batman said softly. Glancing over he saw a look flash across Robin's face, frowning slightly he said. "The boys know how to work as a team, it wasn't just Superboy that helped take down Freeze tonight."

Batman felt a flutter in his stomach as he saw Robin turn and walk towards the Batmobile. _Oh great… what now?_

Superboy watched Robin leave but remained at Batman's side. He watched Robin get in the Batmobile without glancing back at the other two. _Did I do something wrong? Why is he mad?_

Batman looked once more towards the Batmobile then said to the Commissioner. "We better be going, call if you need us again."

"Sure thing Batman." Commissioner Gordon replied as he walked back towards the scene.

Walking back to the Batmobile Batman climbed behind the wheel. "You don't want to drive your cycle back?"

Shaking his head no, Batman flipped a switch on the panel and sent the Robin cycle back to the Batcave remotely.

"Something wrong Robin?" Batman asked as they got on the road.

"No, I'm just tired and felt I wasn't safe to drive myself back."

 _Well played Dick, very well played. But I know you better than that._ Bruce thought to himself.

"OK, I will accept that for now, but if you ever need to talk, you know I'm always here to listen got it?"

Nodding his head Robin said. "Got it."

* * *

Once back at the Batcave Robin changed and became Dick once again, without saying a word he went upstairs to his room for the rest of the night. Bruce watched him from the Batcomputer as he was doing some last minute work before changing himself. _What is bothering that boy? Why is he stubbornly refusing to talk to me?_

"Bruce, what's wrong with Dick? He's not mad at me is he?" Conner asked as he walked up wearing some night clothes Alfred has set out for him.

Turning Bruce replied. "I don't think he is. He just doesn't do well with change, we've been the dynamic duo for so long I think he's having a tough time adjusting to us now becoming a trio."

"Oh, I didn't mean to upset him..."

"None of this is your fault Conner, Dick's never taken change well. It was _my_ decision to bring you here, not yours. He agreed to it, yes, but I think the change is starting to become more noticeable." Bruce told him as he stood up.

"Come on, let's get upstairs before Alfred comes down here and shoos us out." Bruce motioned for the younger boy to follow him as they retired for the rest of the night.

* * *

The rest of the week was uneventful, Friday rolled around and Bruce was trying hard to end his meetings at a good time and make it home by 5.

Looking at his watch again he saw it was going on 4:15 and the meeting had yet to end, looking over at Lucius he gave a slight nod and stood up.

"I'm sorry everyone but I have to be somewhere soon, so Lucius is going to take over for me. Have a nice day." Bruce announced as he didn't wait for a reply and left the office in a hurry.

Not bothering to go to his office he raced out to his car and headed home. He knew the Batcave was actually a faster way to make it home on time since it was nearing rush hour. Turning down a gravel road he took a different route to the Batcave. Hitting a button on the dash he called home.

Dick answered "Wayne Residence?"

Frowning he realized Dick must have picked up a corded phone with no caller ID.

"Dick, I'm running late. Has CPS shown up or called?"

"Hey Bruce, no, not yet. We took Wolf and hid him in the Batcave, Alfred cleaned up any signs that we have a large animal living here."

"Good thinking, I am taking a shortcut and I am coming through the Batcave to get there, rush hour is horrible thanks to this pending storm that is coming."

"Yeah you would think Freeze got loose for how fast it's supposed to be coming."

Chuckling Bruce told him.

"Stall if she happens to get there before me alright. I'm still about fifteen minutes out."

Dick looked over at the clock on the wall just as the doorbell rang.

"Crap, it's almost 5. See you when you get here."

Dick hung up the phone in the hall and raced down the stairs to the front hall just as Alfred was answering it.

"Alfred! Bruce is 15 minutes out still!" Dick told him as he got closer.

Nodding slightly Alfred opened the front door to see May from CPS standing there with her clipboard and pen in hand.

"Good evening Ms. Robinson."

"Hello, Mr. Pennyworth." She greeted warmly after Alfred motioned for her to enter.

"Just call me Alfred please, Master Wayne is running late he shall be here shortly."

May looked down at Dick and said. "Hello, Richard."

"Hi, so what all do you have to do to update Bruce's Homestudy?"

Dick's phone vibrated in his pocket. Glancing down he saw Bruce text him _stall I'm five minutes out, keep away from my study._

He knew what Bruce meant by that as he replied. _Ok, we will be in the living room when you get here.  
_

May smiled as Dick said. "Sorry, just a friend of mine."

"Quite alright, so do you mind if I have a look around? And Where is Conner?"

"He's up in his room reading, Alfred would you mind showing her the living room while I go get him? Please." He asked as he raced up the stairs to get Conner.

Racing up the stairs he opened Conner's door, he found the other teen laying on his bed listening to music on his phone. _Crap no wonder he didn't hear the doorbell._

Running to the side of the bed he waved his hand in front of the phone gaining his attention quickly.

Removing the headphones he sat up. "What's wrong?"

"She's here, Bruce's late. Come on we gotta stall for time."

"How far out is he?" Conner asked getting up.

"Uh, he sent me a text saying five minutes, but he's coming from the less obvious route instead of using the front door," Dick told him as they left the room.

"He's using the backdoor?"

"Yeah, if you want to count our extended basement the back door then sure go with it. Come on." Dick replied as they went down the stairs.

"Oh, got it." Conner shook his head as he followed the younger boy down to the living room where Alfred was describing how the Christmas tree was set up and some of how the holidays had gone.

"Bruce text and said he will be here shortly, he's running a few minutes late," Dick announced as he entered the room.

Conner stopped short when he saw the woman that held his future with her decisions about this entire affair.

"Hello, Conner, it's nice to meet you again."

Nodding his head he said. "Hi, so what are you doing here today? Exactly?"

Dick knew Conner didn't have a filter in his mouth when it came to the right things to ask.

"Conner!" Dick exclaimed, "Bruce told you this was a Homestudy. Just an interview, just cool it, man."

"It's alright Richard, I understand where he's coming from. Conner, it's OK to be nervous around me. But my job is not to take you away from this living arrangement. You see Bruce had to do a Homestudy when he took Richard in. It's outdated, so we are just simply updating it. That's all we are doing today honey."

They all heard the front door slam shut as rushing footsteps came their way.

"I'm so sorry Ms. Robinson, my meeting was running over," Bruce said as he shook her hand.

"It's quite alright Mr. Wayne," May said as she wrote something down on her clipboard.

Alfred left to get some tea for Bruce and May as they took a seat, Bruce sat on the couch with the boys on either side of him and May sitting in a chair beside the coffee table.

"So Bruce it doesn't seem as though you have added on to the house or anything of that nature?"

Shaking his head he told her. "No, I had to repair the roof a while back after a bad thunderstorm but other than that no. Nothing has changed with the layout of the property."

"I noticed the extra length on the front gates? Did something happen that caused those to be built up higher?"

Dick stiffened beside Bruce but the older man just told her easily. "There was a breach a couple years back when someone tried to get on the property. I added some more height to it and also upped security."

"Was the intruder caught?"

"Yes, when the security alarm went off it contacted the police. There haven't been any problems since."

"Before it had been discussed that the wall and the security alarm were to provide Richard with some security. What did he need that kind of security for back then?"

"He witnessed his parent's deaths, on top of that he knew who the murderer was, for fear of his safety I had the wall armed to keep him safe."

"Do you have security on the house as well?" May asked as she wrote some things down.

"Yes, all the doors and windows are armed. It takes about 5 to 10 seconds for the alarm to go off once the house has been breached." Bruce answered not missing a beat.

Nodding her head she asked. "Now, has your schedule changed any since Conner has come to live here?"

"Not much really, he's older so it's not like he so much needs a sitter like Dick did when he first arrived. Alfred has always helped me, he keeps an eye on the boys when I am not here."

"Has your relationship with Richard changed since taking him in? And how do you feel about taking in a second child?" May asked.

Bruce thought about it for a second and told her. "Well, when I first took Dick in I wasn't sure how a guardian was supposed to act seeing as I was raised by my butler after my own parents were murdered. I will admit I made mistakes at first and once Alfred explained what I was doing wrong I opened my heart more and understood that the boy needed a father figure. I feel we have gotten close over the past several years. We can talk openly about anything, he's a good student in school and works hard. He has even helped me at times when I am working too hard, in his opinion, on Wayne Enterprise papers.

I feel a little overwhelmed about taking in a second child only because I have only had one before. But I feel I can manage to split my time between them, I have been trying these past weeks to divide my attention between them."

May wrote something down then asked. "How about discipline? Richard is older now and Conner is 16."

Bruce didn't miss a beat and told her honestly. "Grounding has seemed the most effective with Dick, he rarely gets grounded but when he does he knows why. I don't hand out a grounding that is unfair, although to a child being punished isn't fair under any circumstance. I have only had to ground both of them together, oh, I think it was back in November for breaking a window. But after that, they were careful and didn't do anything wrong after that."

"Really? How did the window break?"

Bruce wanted to curse himself for bringing that up but he continued. "The boys were playing catch out back with a golf ball. One of the boys threw it and the other missed and it hit a tree which in turn shot it through a window. No one was hurt, but they both felt bad."

Dick looked up at Bruce then said. "Hey, I thought playing with the golf ball was a good idea at the time."

"At least no one got hurt. So Bruce, have you thought any more about settling down now that you're establishing a family with adopting two sons?" May asked.

"I'm not currently looking for anyone no. I enjoy being a single father, I didn't think I would at first because I had no idea of what I was doing. But what first-time parent does?"

Writing something down May asked. "So how do you plan on going about keeping Conner in contact with his other family the Kents? I understand that you are going to allow visitation?"

"Yes, I fully plan to allow visitation. There's no reason a biological father wouldn't want to have at least something to do with their child regardless of the circumstances. Clark and I have been friends for far too long for me to keep his son away from him. He's a good man and wouldn't hurt anyone intentionally."

"Are you going to allow the courts decide visitation? Or have you two worked something out?"

"We would rather work it out ourselves. Clark may come around and want to spend more time with his son in the future and I don't want the courts to decide when that happens." Bruce said as he glanced over at Conner who was watching the scene unfold.

"What are you prepared to do if Mr. Kent were to change his mind and take Conner back?"

The million dollar question had been asked, Bruce had thought about this from the beginning.

He kept rolling around in his head what he would do. But at the time the answer had been simple: Clark wasn't going to want him. But now, things were changing so quickly. Clark was coming over more often and actually spending time with Conner, even if it was training. Could Clark be bonding with Conner? He let that question hang in the air.

What if Clark changes his mind?

* * *

 **A/N:** Uh… cliffhanger again I know. But it had to be done, love you guys for all the responses I get over this story! You are all amazing!

If any of you are interested I have a group on Facebook that I post the updates for this story on as well as hold discussions and have fun with other writers and readers: **Batman Writer's Unite.** Come join us!


	19. Unexpected Visitor

Bruce was pulled out of his thoughts by Dick. "I don't think Clark will change his mind, he has seen how happy Conner is here and I really don't think he wants to hurt him by taking him out of here."

Bruce looked over at his son then back to May. "Dick has a point, but if it does come down to it I will fight for custody."

Letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding Bruce relaxed a little once the interview was over. May stood and shook his hand saying. "Thank you for your time Bruce. I will be in touch."

Nodding he walked her to the front door with the boys following behind him. Once the front door was closed Bruce leaned up against it putting his hand over his temple. _Why did I freeze up like that? I knew how to answer that._

He saw the boys watching him and said. "Thank you, Dick, for answering."

"I saw you get nervous when she asked, but what I want to know is why? Clark's not going to put up a fight anytime soon. Why did the question scare you so much?" Dick stated.

Shaking his head Bruce replied back. "I know Dick, I'm sorry for not giving her a straight answer. Sometimes adults just don't know how to answer a question."

Alfred came into the front hall announcing. "Dinner is served."

Bruce watched the boys for a moment before telling them. "Head to the dining room boys, I will be there in a moment."

Lost in his own thoughts for a moment Bruce followed them.

* * *

Once plates were laid out a low howl could be heard. Dick looked over at Conner and told him. "You know, that would be creepy if I didn't already know there was a wolf in the Batcave!"

Bruce chuckled and told them. "We will let him out as soon as dinner is over."

Bruce paused for a moment then turned to Conner. "He doesn't have any superpowers does he?"

"No, he can jump high and run fast but that's just because of what he is. No superpowers that I know of, or at least he hasn't displayed any." Conner explained as he ate his food.

"Are we going on patrol tonight?" Dick asked after a few moments of silence.

Bruce shook his head and told him. "No, I have to do some work down in the cave, though. I haven't sent you all on a mission in months and I think the others are getting antsy as well as bored."

"Is there anything going on internationally?" Conner asked quietly.

"That's what I am going to find out. There has been a break in crime even for the Justice League. In my opinion that is not a good sign, not with there being a mole among the Young Justice team. I have been trying to find out who that mole is but I can't find him or her." Bruce told them both.

Dick was silent for several more minutes and then asked. "What if we stage a mission? You know, draw out the mole by forcing them to show themselves? I don't like knowing any more than anyone else does."

Conner frowned and told him. "That's an interesting idea."

Bruce thought about it as he took a long drink of his black coffee. "That could work, I just don't want it to blow up in our faces."

They were all silent until dessert arrived and then Bruce asked both boys. "Do you two have any suspects?"

Conner frowned for a moment and then replied. "I suspect everyone… well except Dick of course."

"Even your girlfriend?" Dick teased.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Conner shot back.

"Oh yeah right, and Batman doesn't like Catwoman," Dick replied back laughing.

"Hey! When did that topic come into the conversation!" Bruce told him.

"It's true and you know it. You like Selina Kyle, you've made that painfully obvious for years." Dick shot back.

"Selina Kyle is Catwoman? That woman that dresses up as a cat that's on the files down in the cave?" Conner asked dumbfounded.

"Yes. She's also a criminal that has the hots for Batman." Dick told him laughing hard.

"Oh one of these days Boy Wonder, you will be in the same boat as me with women criminals." Bruce shot back trying to look stern and failing miserably.

"Besides I don't think M'Gann is a criminal. It hardly seems right that she would be the mole in any case, but you're right Conner, we have to suspect everyone." Bruce added.

"What about Wally? We know he's not the mole. That just leaves Artemis and Aqualad." Dick told him honestly.

"That boy's mouth runs faster than he does, I know without a doubt he's not the mole. But Dick, you are forgetting one person: Roy. I have been doing some research and I have found something in the data banks that shows that something changed in Roy. I can't be sure what it is yet but something's different." Bruce told him getting lost in thought again.

"But Bruce, we've known Roy for years. There's no way he would rat us out or try and hurt us." Dick told him worried.

"As I have known Red Tornado for years and look at what he did to the cave? We have to suspect everyone Dick, even the people we think of as allies or friends. We know Wallace is not a mole if I even suspected that I wouldn't let him over here." Bruce argued back.

"What about Green Arrow? Are you going to suspect him now too?" Dick asked.

"Dick, this is among the Young Justice team, the mole is not in the Justice League itself." Bruce fired back quickly defending his long-time friend.

Conner sat quietly for several moments listening to the other two talk, after a while neither of them continued to talk about the situation at the Mountain.

Wolf's howls got to be too much to ignore any longer and Conner got up to go get him. "I'll be back, I think something's up with Wolf, he doesn't normally keep howling this long."

Bruce nodded and replied. "Go ahead."

* * *

Opening the entrance to the Batcave he realized this was the first time he had been down here alone.

Looking around it felt so much bigger than it really was, the air was damp and cool though it didn't bother him. He could hear the faint sounds of the bats deep in the caverns as well as up high on the ceiling. Wolf ran up to him happily and began barking at him motioning for him to follow.

"What is it, boy?" Following his friend, he found himself in the very cavern that Bruce had to come retrieve them from.

"I don't think I'm supposed to be in here by myself without Dick or Bruce. What are you trying to show me?"

Then he heard it, it started off faint then grew slightly louder with each time he listened harder. "Is that… is that someone crying for help?" Following Wolf's lead, the large animal took him to the section of the cave that he and Dick had been down a while before.

"This is where Bruce fell boy, but there's nothing here?"

Wolf pointed his massive head upwards and Conner listened using his super hearing. That's when he heard it, a soft cry from above ground. _"Help! Can anyone hear me?"_

"I've gotta tell Bruce." Running back to the main part of the cave with Wolf close behind he raced to the Manor at his top speed being careful to not take out the clock in the study in his haste.

"Bruce! Bruce! We need to get to the edge of the yard!"

Bruce, Dick, and Alfred all came running to find Conner in the hall near the front door.

"My word, what has you so worked up?" Alfred asked.

"Conner, what happened?" Dick asked at the same time as Bruce asked. "Did something happen in the cave?"

"Wolf's howling wasn't because of him being by himself for so long, he could hear someone outside. It echoed off the walls of the cave. He lead me right to the spot where you fell Bruce, there's a kid out there crying for help."

"That's half a mile away. Alfred call the police and possibly an ambulance, Dick run out and get the Range Rover started. Come with me Conner lets check the surveillance camera to make sure of who is out there." _Why didn't the alarm sound?_

Going back to the study Bruce pulled up the footage on his Laptop since it wasn't _Batman_ related and time was essential since it was so cold out.

Panning the camera around Bruce saw a small figure in the snow, it looked to be a child just a little younger than Dick. He couldn't tell from the camera angle if it was a boy or girl but either way he had to get out there fast since he saw on the camera's temperature gauge that it was a bitter 8 above zero.

They raced out to the waiting Range Rover and the three speed off into the night towards the crying child that was lost in the snow. Dick turned the searchlight on that was perched on top of the vehicle and panned it around the area once they reached the spot.

"There. He's over by that tree now."

Bruce turned where Dick saw the other child and saw that it was, in fact, a little boy maybe 9 or 10 years old. The CB radio that was in the Rover cracked to life with Alfred's voice.

" _Sir? Did you find the child? I have called the police and they are sending an ambulance as well."_

"Copy that Alfred, yes we found him, it's a little boy about 9 to 10 years old. I'm getting out to go check on him."

Turning to the teens he said. "I want you two to stay in here, the temperature is too fridged for you to get out. Dick turn the heater on full blast."

Getting out of the car he walked over to the weak and cold child and knelt down beside him. "Hey, little guy? What are you doing out here?"

The boy was curled up at the base of a large oak tree and looked up at him pain and fear evident in his brown eyes.

"I-I-I ran-n-n away… I couldn't take it anymore..."

"Are you injured?" Bruce asked gently.

"Not anything I ain't dealt with before..." Came the soft reply.

Bruce frowned at the answer and told him. "Come on, we have the heater on in my car."

Not wanting to be out in the cold any longer the boy got to his feet slowly. Bruce took note that his clothes were tattered and torn and there was dried blood on his pant leg. The boy limped slightly as Bruce got him over to the vehicle.

"Dick, get in the back seat with Conner. Come here kiddo your safe now." Bruce told the cold boy as he held the door open for him and helped him inside the car. Getting back behind the wheel he picked up the CB and said.

" _Alfred, phone ahead and tell emergency personnel to meet us at the Manor. And have some hot chocolate ready along with some warm blankets."_

" _Very well sir."_

Not a word was spoken as they drove back to the Manor in the darkness. Snow started falling again along with freezing rain as they got closer to the house.

Bruce helped the young boy out of the car and inside where Alfred wait in the front hall with the requested supplies.

"My word, what happened to you out there?" Alfred asked as Bruce brought in the small boy.

Guiding the hurt boy to sit in a chair by the staircase Bruce turned to Dick. "Would you get him some clean clothes, we need to get him warmed back up."

Not saying a word Dick raced upstairs to his room and found some clothes and ran back downstairs.

The phone rang just as Dick got back to Bruce's side.

Alfred answered and then turned to his surrogate son and asked. "Master Bruce, it's Commissioner Gordon, he want's to know the state the child is in? The storm is preventing anyone from getting out here."

Bruce turned to Alfred and told him. "He has a cut on his leg and a lot of bruises and is chilled to the bone. But he should be alright for the night, he's not in immediate danger."

Turning to the boy he saw the child was slowly coming around and was now looking at his surroundings.

"What is this place? A castle?" Bruce chuckled and told Alfred. "Tell the Commissioner that the boy." "Jason." The boy interrupted. "OK, Jason will be fine for the night. Have him send out someone in the morning or as soon as the roads are cleared."

While Alfred talked to the Commissioner Bruce turned his attention to their house guest. "So Jason, what were you doing out here this late in the evening? We are miles from anywhere."

Pulling the warm blanket closer around him he said. "I don't know, I just knew I couldn't stay longer out there."

"Out where son? Where did you come from?" Bruce encouraged the boy to speak.

Shrugging Jason responded. "What does it matter? Come morning you'll just send me back anyway."

"Send you back where?" Dick asked.

Looking up at the older boy Jason replied. "The Gotham City Detention Center."

Everyone froze, Dick's mouth hung open for several seconds before asking. "What did you do to get put in there?"

Jason looked up into Bruce's blue eyes before meeting Dick's. "I uh… my Pop… he told me I wouldn't get caught… but I did… I um… tried to steal some money from a convenience store down in the hood. The cashier caught me and turned me in… my Pop came by the station and told the police that I was nothing but a trouble maker and to do whatever they wanted with me. So, they put me in the Detention Center. I've been there for about 3 months now, I couldn't take it anymore."

 _Shit, now that they know they are just going to take me back tonight… damn, wish I had just lied._ Jason told himself sharply.

They were all silent for a long time before Bruce told him. "Down the hall and to the right is a bathroom, go put these clothes on and then come back right here OK?"

"Thanks, mister."

"Just call me Bruce, these are my sons Dick and Conner, and this is my butler and longtime friend Alfred. He will see about getting you a room for the night. Don't be afraid kiddo, you're safe here."

Bruce could see how hesitant the boy was and encouraged him by saying. "This isn't a trick son, I promise. No one is going to hurt you while you're here I can promise you that."

Jason slipped out from under the blanket and walked to the bathroom down the hall. He saw once he was in there a shower. _Oh man, I bet a hot shower would feel great compared to what I get at the Center. Hope this guy doesn't care._

Bruce noticed after about five minutes the boy didn't come out, so going to the door he listened and heard the shower running. Smiling he walked back to the main hall where Alfred was standing by with medical supplies.

"He is taking a shower. Hope he feels better afterward." Bruce said as he sat on the vacant seat that was beside Jason's seat.

"So Bruce, what are we going to do with him? He's a criminal." Conner said firmly.

Bruce looked up at him and replied. "He's obviously had a hard life, he's too young to be considered a criminal when obviously he was just following orders. Who knows what his father would have done to him if he had disobeyed and not stolen that money."

Frowning deeper Conner asked. "What do you mean? You're not suggesting keeping a criminal in the house?"

"Conner, it's clear he's been abused. I could tell by how he was acting. When a child has no other choice between getting hurt or stealing most of the time they will steal to avoid getting hurt. I think that's what Jason did, he was trying to avoid getting hurt."

"He lives at the same place I was… I wasn't there for very long but oh cripes I wonder what kind of hell he lived in? It still haunts my dreams." Dick stated coming out of his shock.

"I can only imagine Dick, considering he ran from there. But what he was doing this far out is what worries me? The Detention Center is on the other side of Gotham City." Bruce told him.

Dick glanced up at Alfred before saying to Bruce. "Maybe he was hitchhiking? And they got lost in the storm earlier today."

"That's possible too, we will get the whole story from him when he gets out here," Bruce replied.

After hearing the shower turn off Bruce turned back to the boys. "Go get ready for bed, then come to the living room."

Both boys nodded and took off upstairs, Wolf trailing along behind them. "Conner, keep him in your room in all the excitement I'm surprised he didn't notice Wolf standing beside you."

"OK." Was the response as he went upstairs.

A few minutes later Jason came back, Bruce told him. "Have a seat so we can see how bad your leg is."

"I'm not hurt Bruce..." Jason told him defensively.

Keeling down to the sitting boy he said. "Jason, I saw the blood and I did catch a glimpse of a cut. Please let me take a look. I promise I won't hurt you."

Bruce spoke softly to him and kept direct eye contact with the boy. Dick had chosen a set of his old pajamas from a couple years ago. They were slightly too big on Jason but it would work for tonight. Bruce rolled up the pant leg to reveal a long gash on the side of his calf.

"How did you get that? Looks pretty painful." Bruce could see various scratches and bruises along his exposed leg and wondered if the rest of his body looked the same.

Cocking his head and shrugging Jason told him. "I've had worse, not like those jerks at the Center give a damn about a little kid like me anyhow. They didn't notice when I slipped right out of the window and down the drainpipe outside."

"And you didn't set the alarm off?"

"Nah, I had cut the wires earlier so no one would notice. But to answer your question I cut my leg on this piece of metal poking out of the brick wall."

As Bruce was cleaning the wound and wrapping it up with gauze he asked. "So what were you doing so far into the country? You realize you are miles away from the Detention Center?"

"I hitched a ride with some dude that said he'd give me a lift. He started to go up a gravel driveway, when I saw this huge W on the gate I asked where he was taking me. He said he had to get some fast cash. I realized what was happening so I had to get out of there, I unlocked the car door and ran. The guy chased me until I managed to crawl under the fence and make a run for it. I had no idea where I was after that. But my leg hurt like a bitch after I crawled into a hallowed out tree near this cemetery I found. I'm Sorry for trespassing and don't think I am tricking you in the least. I'm through with stealing, I didn't want to do it anymore so I had to get away from that guy."

Bruce had finished mending the injured leg and listened to the boy's story. "I see, so that explains why the security alarm didn't go off. Do you have a good description of the car that you came here in?"

Jason looked worried for a moment and was hesitant to speak. He looked up when he saw Dick and Conner coming back.

"Jason, come into the living room, we have the fireplace going. It's warmer in there than in here by the front hall." Bruce told him gently placing a hand on his shoulder. He noticed the slight jump the boy made at the gesture and removed his hand quickly.

Getting up slowly he followed them into the living room sitting in a chair that was placed near the fire with a folded blanket next to it.

Alfred came in with hot cocoa for all three boys and said. "Here you are young sir. I hope this helps with the chill." He also handed something Jason nor the other boys could see to Bruce.

Jason looked around at the kind strangers he just met and asked. "Why are you all being so nice to me? I figured you would have carted me off the second you saw me."

Dick took a sip of his cocoa and asked. "Has that happened before?"

Looking over at the older boy he noticed a concerned look had come over his face, but the older one didn't look convinced at all.

"My Pop told me never trust anyone cause no one would want a scrawny little punk like me. They'd turn me away the second they saw me if I was ever caught." Jason replied as he took a cautious sip of his hot drink.

Bruce gave him a kind smile and told him. "As these two know I don't turn anyone away, no matter what their past involves."

Dick was quiet for a moment and then asked. "So where's your mom?"

Looking down at his cup he answered sadly. "Mom died a few years ago, she had cancer. Pop went off the deep end after she left us, he quit his job and turned to a life of crime. We'd been doing alright I guess, but then he started drinking and doing drugs. Hell, he brings home a new woman every night, sometimes two. Not sure what he does with them but I can guess."

He was silent again then said. "So who are you, Bruce? I know your face at least."

"My name is Bruce Wayne, I run most of the businesses around Gotham."

"I wondered, seeing the W on the gate there is only one person in town with the last name that starts with that letter. I was just making sure I was right."

Conner was getting irritated by the younger boy's presence and asked. "So did you keep the money that you took from that cashier?"

"Didn't even get the chance to touch it, I was too short to reach. Caught me trying to move a box over to stand on it. I got scared and ran when they called the cops. My old man beat me pretty good for failing and then threw me out on the streets only for the cops to pick me up. Even though I didn't steal a damn thing they still charged me with the crime." Jason explained.

"Was that your first offense?" Bruce asked.

He looked down almost too quickly and said very softly. "No, I uh… lifted a candy bar once about a year ago. Didn't get caught, even Pop didn't catch me. But I didn't eat it, I took it back. It just didn't feel right. I told the cashier and she made me wash dishes back in the kitchen and then I had to clean the bathroom. Said as long as I did that, she wouldn't press charges."

"That was nice of her, and that was good of you to admit to doing something wrong like that," Bruce told him. _He may be a hard knock case but he has a good heart._

Shifting in his seat he told Bruce. "Pop didn't think so… when I told him what I did… let's just say I was a lefty for a whole 6 to 8 weeks."

"He broke your arm?" Dick asked shocked.

"Yeah, and his idea of therapy was to use the tire iron and learn how to take lug nuts off cars," Jason replied back sitting back in his chair. He could feel Conner's eyes on him and it was making him uncomfortable.

The clocked chimed 9 and Bruce told them. "Well, it's getting late boys and it's been one heck of an evening. Time for bed."

Dick was tempted to groan out a complaint but a warning look from Bruce told him it's best to do what he was told. Getting up he looked over at Conner and said. "Come on. Good night Bruce."

He gave him a slight hug before leaving the living room. Jason watched them go before turning his eyes to Bruce.

"So you want me to leave or what?"

Bruce stood up and told him gently. "No, you are more than welcome to stay here for the night."

Looking out the window Bruce saw how bad the snow storm had gotten. "And besides, the storm may have us all snowed in for a while, I am not about to send a child out into the weather."

Frowning Jason jumped up and said firmly. "Hey! I will be 10 soon!"

"Sorry didn't realize that 10 was the new 30. Now come with me, I'll show you where you will be staying the night." _or possibly the weekend, just depends on the weather._

Sticking his tough out at Bruce behind his back Jason followed close behind in the gigantic house. Jason studied all the things in the house as they passed by several rooms at the end of the hall on the second floor. He passed one door that said 'Dick's Room' and then one further down saying 'Conner's Room'. The door across from Conner was the one Bruce stopped at.

Turning Bruce told him. "Here you go, sleep tight. I am just down the hall and to the left across from Dick's room if you need me."

Looking up nervously Jason said. "Thanks, Bruce, this is nice of you."

Bruce got a sense that Jason didn't quite trust him yet and why should the boy be expected to anytime soon? He had a rough childhood so far.

"Jason, I'm not going to hurt you OK? You are safe here. I promise." Bruce told him softly.

Jason walked into the room and shut the door softly. Bruce went to check on the other two boys, knocking on Conner's door he heard the soft reply and went on inside.

He saw Conner sitting up in bed with his side lamp on and book Dick had given him in hand. "Everything alright Conner? You looked upset earlier?"

Looking towards the closed door across the hall from his open one he said softly. "I don't trust him, he's a criminal in training. He's everything we are trying to stop, but you allowed him to stay? You heard him, he was asked to help rob you."

"I am giving him the benefit of the doubt Conner, he said he ran away from the man that was trying to force him to commit the crime. Judging by his mistrust in me and Alfred I can see he's telling the truth. He's a scared 9-Year-old boy who needs help." Bruce told him as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

Footsteps could be heard from the hall and Bruce turned slightly to find Dick in the doorway, the younger boy shut the door and walked over to them. "So do you think he's telling the truth?"

"Yes, to an extent anyway. I can tell however that he is being bullied at the Detention Center, and I can pretty much guarantee that no one is doing anything about it. I also saw that he does have scars from previous injuries which tie into his story about his father. With that in mind, I plan on going out tonight, solo and bring that man to justice. It's not going to be hard to find him once I run his name through the computer."

"What's the kid's last name? He never told us that. There's gotta be hundreds of Jason's all over the place." Dick exclaimed keeping his voice as low as the other two.

"Alfred found his Detention Center ID card in his pocket. His name is Jason Todd, I'll just put into the computer what I know of him and the computer will do the rest of the work. Mr. Todd is not going to get away with abusing a child and then setting his own son up for failure like that. Setting him up for a robbery and then leaving him behind for the police to deal with. I recorded Jason's statement, so he won't have to testify against his father once he's caught."

Shaking his head Dick asked. "What kind of father could do that to his son? What's going to happen to him if he gets to leave the Center?"

Bruce looked down at Conner's bed spread and then said. "He will probably be put in a foster home, but I will look into the Wayne Foundation Boys Home to see if they have room for him. It would be better than a foster home."

"Is that like an orphanage?" Conner asked.

"Yes, my father funded it before he died. I donated more to the foundation a while back when I found out they needed more rooms. Dick was supposed to be placed there. Not in the Detention Center."

"This arrangement wasn't supposed to be permanent, was it? You taking Dick in and later adopting him." Conner asked.

Looking between the boys Bruce told him honestly. "No, it wasn't. But this kid knew how to win the heart of a cold-hearted Batman that's for sure. Here I was out looking for the killer and he runs in and helps out. I knew once he became Robin that his stay was permanent. Not because I didn't trust him to keep my secret but because he had quite literally stolen my heart. I learned what it was like to be a father in a short amount of time."

Dick laughed and told him. "Been stealing the hearts of others for 13 years now! No stopping the Boy Wonder."

Bruce let out a laugh and then told Conner. "Did you know, that there was ever only one thing next to Kryptonite that can scare Superman?"

"There is?"

"Yes, it happened shortly after I took Dick in and then under my wing as Robin. He had done something that got me tickled and I started laughing. I thought Clark was going to have a heart attack… if that stubborn Kryptonian was actually capable of having one that is. Only Alfred has ever heard me laugh before and that had been many years before then." Bruce told him amused at the memory.

"It kind of startled me the first time you laughed too. I never knew you had a sense of humor." Conner replied.

"I come across as being a hard-ass only because that's sometimes the price of being a leader."

"Nah, he's a softy under that hard shell. I've found that out over time, you should see him when I get really sick or injured." Dick told him.

Bruce noticed Dick stifle a yawn and said. "Alright, I better head out before it gets too late. I will see you two in the morning. Conner, trust me when I tell you: Jason's not a threat. If I thought he was then I would have taken him into the city myself in the Rover that can get through this snow storm."

Conner nodded and watched Bruce and Dick leave his room shutting the door behind him. Picking his book back up out of his lap he began reading again. _I just hope Bruce knows what he's doing._

* * *

Without saying a word Dick went to his room and shut the door. _I really wonder if Bruce isn't trying to get attached to this new kid? What if he finds out that he doesn't need me anymore? I was almost useless when we faced off with Mr. Freeze._

Dick went back to his bed and laid down under the warm covers after switching off the light in his room. Looking out his window he watched as the snow blew hard with the force of the wind. _Hope Bruce is alright going out into the storm to find Jason's dad._

* * *

Bruce went down to the Batcave after peeking in on Jason finding the boy asleep. He donned his costume and was just about to get in the Batmobile when he saw Alfred coming out of the elevator with a questioning look.

"Sir, is it wise to take on the storm at this hour?"

"Alfred, that boy upstairs needs our help. He can't stay at the Detention Center. What I need you to do is find out if the orphanage has a place for him. With Conner's adoption underway I can't take in another child right now, or I would."

Nodding Alfred told him. "As you wish sir. Be safe."

Taking a deep breath Batman told him. "I'll try my best. If the storm gets to be too much I will come back."

Bruce started the Batmobile and then took off into the night, he knew the mission would be a difficult one but he used the computer in the car to locate Jason's father. This cut his time in half as the speed in the direction of Gotham City. The snow covered roads were no match for the Batmobile as it plowed right through the deep snow drifts and into the night.

Little did Jason know that the home he stumbled upon would be his saving grace…

* * *

 **A/N:** Jason is making his first appearance in this chapter and in chapter 20. He will make a final appearance in the epilogue of this story. Then there will be a sequel but that's not going to happen for quite some time as this story is pretty long.

 **Stay tuned for the conclusion of what Bruce does to save another child from living hell.**

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	20. The Following Morning

The following morning Alfred went to wake the three boys up for breakfast, he was startled when he saw Dick's bed was vacant. He found the boy in the study waiting to talk to Bruce who was on the phone.

" _Really Commissioner? Batman brought in the boy's father early this morning?"_

Dick chuckled at the fake shock Bruce was exhibiting over the phone.

" _Are the roads any better?"_

Dick wished Conner was with him as he strained to hear what Commissioner Gordon's response was.

" _I see, well he's welcome to stay as long as he needs to. But with Conner's adoption, I don't want anything stopping the process."_

Bruce saw Dick watching him out of the corner of his eye and said to the Commissioner. _"OK that's fine, Monday morning would be fine."_

Alfred stood behind Dick and asked. "So what did the Commissioner say?"

Bruce started to answer when he saw Jason standing in the doorway. "Jason, come here for a moment."

Dick and Alfred stepped aside and let the younger boy get closer to Bruce.

"Jason, I spoke with Commissioner Gordon. You do not have to return to the Detention Center."

The 9-year-old's mouth dropped at the news. "What! Why? What happened to change their minds? Where will I go?"

Bruce chuckled and motioned for Jason to have a seat. "You will go to the Wayne Foundation Boy's Home, it's like an orphanage. It's a safe place for you to go for now until someone is willing to adopt you. Apparently, Batman showed up at your father's door last night along with some police officers and had him arrested on drug and abuse charges. After you went to bed I called in a few favors that Batman promised a while back."

Tears welled up in Jason's eyes as he said. "Thank you, Mr. Wayne! So the charges are dropped?"

"Yes, but the storm was so bad last night no one can get out here. So it will be Monday morning that I will take you to the Boy's Home." Bruce told him gently.

Alfred stood with his hands folded behind his back and said. "Well since Master Jason is staying for a day or two I shall make sure he has some proper clothes to put on for his stay here. In the mean time, breakfast is ready, Master Conner is already at the table waiting."

Smiling up at his butler and long time friend Bruce told him. "Thanks, Alfred, come on boys lets go eat."

Once in the dining room they took their seats, Jason stood behind Dick and asked. "Where do I sit Bruce? "

"Where ever you like, there's no assigned seats. I'm not _that_ strict." Bruce said as Jason took a seat across from Conner.

Alfred brought in plates of pancakes, bacon, and toast for the boys and eggs and sausage with toast for Bruce.

Jason looked at everyone's plates and then his own, he'd never had pancakes this big before. They were light, golden brown and filled the entire plate. He noticed Dick's wasn't as big as his or Conner's. _Maybe he's not a big eater… Man, I really hope Pop don't get out of jail anytime soon. He's gonna be so mad that I got caught again or worse yet I chickened out._

Looking out the window for a second he saw sunlight coming in through the curtains. "It doesn't look like it snowed too much."

Bruce glanced over at the boy and replied. "More than you think it did kiddo, I'm going out after breakfast to check them and see how bad they are."

Dick perked up at that and asked. "Can I go with you to check out the roads?"

"I don't care, Conner, you want to come or stay here with Jason?"

Shrugging the older boy replied. "I'll stay here."

"It's settled after breakfast we will go out and check the roads."

Jason looked out the window again and noticed the snow packed on the lower part of the window and asked. "What if you can't even get out of the garage?"

"Then that tells me that I need to get my snow plow out. Which I will end up doing anyway later depending on what the roads look like."

"You don't have someone to do that for you?" Jason asked curiously.

"No, I don't hire people to do everything for me. After my parents died, Alfred made me help him shovel snow from the driveway. At first, I found it to be hard, and too much of a chore. But after a while I found it to be fun."

They finished their breakfast in silence after they were done Dick and Bruce set off to see about clearing the roads.

* * *

The snow was deep as Dick and Bruce walked out to the garage.

Bruce changed his course to where the larger vehicles were. Dick nearly lost his footing in the deep snow trying to keep up with his surrogate father.

"A little warning would be nice for us shorter people," Dick told him grumpily.

Bruce looked back and told him. "Sorry, we are just going to get the snow plow. The Rover will get stuck in this. We got lucky the snow wasn't deep last night when we rescued Jason, but it is now after that storm we had we would be stuck before ever leaving the garage."

"So does that mean we have to take Jason back to the city today?" Dick asked as they got to the section of the garage where the plow was kept.

Bruce opened the door and sat in the seat for a moment before starting it up. Looking down at his son he answered. "No, the city worker's haven't had time to plow the city streets yet. We can wait till Monday. Like I told Conner, Jason's not a threat, he's just a hurt and scared 9-year-old."

"I wish you could adopt him too, it would be so cool to have more than one brother!" Dick told him excitedly.

Bruce laughed and told him. "Dick, I can't adopt every child that is being neglected. I wish I could but I can't. There are other people out there that would love to have a child in their home."

"I bet you'll change your mind some day. Heck, you didn't even want to be a parent at first years ago, now look at you. You have me and you will soon have Conner."

"Good point, now are you gonna climb up here with me? There's not a lot of room but your still small enough you can sit on my lap. Don't worry I won't tell your friends."

Dick looked back towards the house and then told him. "I don't care if Conner and Jason know, just as long as the rest of the team doesn't find out."

"Considering they don't know your Dick Grayson, I really don't think you have anything to worry about. I think it would be hard to picture Robin sitting on Batman's lap don't you?"

They both laughed at the idea and the image that came to mind of 13-year-old Robin sitting on his mentor's lap.

Thinking for a second Dick climbed up into the plow sitting on Bruce's lap. After the door was shut and the heater was turned on full blast Dick said with humor in his voice. "That would be too funny if we actually did that."

* * *

Conner stood at the window in the living room with Jason at his side, Conner chuckled slightly and said. "Now there's something you don't see every day."

"Isn't he too old to be sitting on his father's lap?" Jason asked.

"I have noticed in the time I've lived here, Dick acts younger than his age when he's around Bruce. He has his moments but they have an inseparable bond."

"Is Dick his biological son?" Jason asked.

Shaking his head Conner answered. "No, Dick was orphaned when he was just a little younger than you. His parents were murdered, CPS threw him in the Detention Center instead of placing him in a true foster home or orphanage. He didn't do anything wrong, they didn't want to deal with him."

"A victim of circumstance? I heard someone say that once back at the Center. One of the workers said that's what I am. She also mentioned a Richard but didn't say his last name that was there long before me. He was the youngest person there."

"That would have been Dick most likely. He was 8 at the time." Conner said as they watched the plow move the snow away from the front door.

"How old is he now?"

"13, recently Bruce adopted him. He's adopting me now, he's a nice guy. You can trust him to do what he says he's gonna do." Conner told the younger boy.

Jason was silent for the rest of the time thinking about what Conner had said. He looked up at the older boy in wonder. Looking back out the window they watched as Bruce drove the plow down the driveway and out of sight.

Turning from the window Conner sat in front of the TV and turned it on. The local news came on since that was the last channel watched. They sat in silence for a while until Conner looked over at the chair Jason had been sitting in to find the boy sound asleep.

* * *

It was more than 2 hours later that Bruce and Dick came back from plowing the road leading to Wayne Manor as well as the road that leads to the Batcave and side roads as well so that no one would accidentally get lost in the pure white snow and end up in a place they didn't belong.

Walking through the door Bruce could hear the TV playing in the living room. Walking in he saw Jason asleep in the chair with a blanket draped over him and Conner watching the news.

"Anything interesting on?" Bruce whispered to Conner knowing the boy could hear him.

Looking behind him he saw Bruce. "Not really, have fun plowing snow?"

"Eh, it was alright. Dick wound up sitting beside me on the floor of the snow plow. With the heater cranked up I let him sit on my coat instead of the hard metal floor." Bruce told him as he sat down beside the teen.

Bruce watched the news with Conner for a moment before saying. "How's Jason doing?"

"He doesn't like to be alone, I've noticed that. But he's been asleep for almost two hours now."

"Do you still not trust him?"

Shrugging Conner told him. "I don't know, I mean if he was going to do something he would have done it already. So I guess the kid isn't bad."

They were silent again for several moments before Conner asked. "How much snow did we get?"

"I would say at least 6 inches or more, it was pretty deep. Dick had trouble keeping up with me when we went to the garage. There were some spots where the plow almost slid off the road, once we warm up I'm going out to put rock salt down to help melt it more and make it travel ready." Bruce told him looking back out the window at the graying sky. It was almost noon and it was growing pretty gray outside.

"Looks like we are in for another storm." Dick's voice carried into the living room from the doorway.

Bruce and Conner looked over the back of the couch at Dick who was walking towards them, he had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and a mug of steaming hot cocoa in his hand. Sitting next to Conner on the couch Dick told him. "Be thankful that the cold doesn't bother you. Cause dang is it cold out there."

Jason had woken up at some point and was watching them with his eyes slit open. He smelled the hot cocoa that Dick had and sat up more. Sitting up Jason rubbed his tired eyes and asked. "How long did I sleep?"

Conner glanced over and told him. "Almost two hours, didn't you sleep good last night?"

Bruce knew if Alfred had been in the room the teen would have been corrected on his grammar, but he wasn't going to correct him. Jason looked between the three and said. "No, not really."

"Did you have a nightmare?" Dick asked softly.

Jason sat up fully and pushed the blanket off of him. "I don't get nightmares."

 _With everything you told us last night, I highly doubt that kiddo._ Bruce wanted to say but kept it to himself.

Dick didn't want to upset the younger boy any further so he told them. "Alfred said that lunch was almost ready."

Jason perked up at the sound of food and asked. "What are we having?"

Dick stood up and told him. "Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches."

 _Yuck, I hate that stuff, but beggars can't be choosers I guess. It's been a while since I have had two meals in a row, so I better not jinx it._ Jason stood up and followed them out of the living room and into the dining room where four bowls were set out and 3 steaming mugs of liquid were waiting. Conner and Jason were served hot cocoa and Bruce had coffee.

Jason looked over at Dick and asked. "Where's yours?"

Lifting up his mug he told him. "I nabbed it off the table, I was cold so I got my cup and started drinking it. You'll like Alfred's food, he makes everything homemade, there are very few things he actually purchases from the store."

"Does he make his own flour and stuff like that?"

Dick chuckled and told him. "No, that is one of the few things he will buy from the store."

"Jason, I own a farm not far from here that grows almost all the food we eat here, meat included. Milk, flour, sugar and eggs are bought from the store. I believe in an all natural diet is the best way to stay healthy." Bruce explained to him.

"That's cool, so how did Alf make this hot chocolate?" Jason asked taking a sip of the cooling liquid.

Dick's eyes lit up and he explained. "Alfred can make chocolate from scratch, he said his grandmother taught him how when he was a kid. But he uses store bought milk, it is so good. He told me the story one time when I first came here about how his Grandmother and his mother taught him how to cook everything from scratch. So it's an old family recipe."

"That's cool, this tastes really good," Jason told him holding up his nearly empty mug.

Alfred came out moments later with their soup and sandwiches. Jason cringed at first looking down at the red liquid in the bowl. _If what Bruce said was true then this was made with real tomatoes, not that can crap they feed us back at the Center._

He blew on the soup a little too cool it then dipped his spoon in and took a bite. "Wow, Alf this is good stuff!"

Bruce chuckled and Dick ducked his head to hide his laughter as Alfred responded. "It's Alfred, my dear boy, I am glad you like it. Do they not feed you good food at the Center?"

Already knowing the answer Alfred waited for the reply.

"Hell no, their idea of soup is out of a can. And even then you can't be for sure that it's even lukewarm when you get it." Jason told him between bites, not caring in the least that he was burning his tongue.

"They feed you cold food?" Conner asked as he took a bite of his sandwich.

Dick answered seeing as Jason was eating too fast to say anything. "Lukewarm doesn't even compare to what they would serve at that place. I had straight up cold food when I was there. And that was _if_ the other boys would let me eat at all. So yes Conner they serve cold food and get away with it, heck they do more than that and get away with it. They allow bigger kids to beat the smaller ones, they see the one's that fight back as the ones to avoid but the ones like me who was too small _to_ fight back as easy targets."

"You can hold your own now." Conner pointed out.

"Yeah, now, but not back then. My parents didn't believe in fighting, defending yourself yeah if someone was bullying you but never just for fun. I knew enough self-defense to get away but nothing like what Bruce has taught me over the years."

"So they used to pick on you too huh?" Jason spoke up after he had cleaned out his bowl and finished his sandwich.

"Yeah, I was already depressed it didn't help I couldn't fight back. Thankfully I wasn't there very long."

Jason frowned and asked. "Why were you depressed? And why were you even there to begin with? You seem like a nice enough kid."

Dick looked down at his bowl then replied. "My parents were murdered, I was the star witness and CPS didn't have time to deal with an orphan circus performer so they shoved me in the Detention Center. I knew who killed my parents and there was a hit over my head so I was in danger. Bruce had been there that night and had seen everything too, just not who killed my parents. He knew my pain more than anyone, it took almost a week but he took me in as his foster son then adopted me a couple years later."

"Conner told me about that. Sorry to hear that, a week huh? Damn, I've been in there for 3 months. I put those bullies in their places, though. They know not to mess with Jason Todd. If I was there back then I would have kept them from hurting you. Your an OK guy Dick."

Alfred knew this boy had a tough background but he was getting a little fed up with the use of swear words. "Jason, might you refrain from swearing it is most rude."

"Sorry, Alf. I'm just so used to it I don't even know I'm doing it."

"Understandable given your background, but please do remember you are a guest and it's rude to curse in another man's home."

 _I like this guy, normally I'd get backhanded or screamed at and this guy is so damn nice to me._ "I'll try and show more respect. I promise."

Nodding his approval Alfred asked. "Would you like seconds Master Jason?"

Frowning at the term used he replied. "If that's OK… is there enough for everyone?"

"Yes, I will get you more young sir," Alfred told him as he took the boy's bowl back to the kitchen and prepared another helping.

He wasn't used to being waited on or treated this kindly, it was a new thing for Jason. Normally he would feel hesitant but something about this household told him they really meant what they said about no harm will come to him.

Once the refilled bowl was placed in front of him he dug in again and ate a second helping. Alfred knew the boy was badly underweight and needed the extra food. It didn't take him long to finish the second bowl, without asking Alfred brought him a second sandwich as well and Jason wasted no time in eating it as too.

Bruce watched him and knew this scene seemed so familiar from not so long ago when Dick finally learned to trust again and began to eat like there was no tomorrow. Making a mental note he was going to pay the Detention Center a visit come Monday after he dropped Jason off at the Boy's Home.

* * *

After lunch, Dick showed Jason the game room while Bruce and Conner worked out in the upstairs gym. Watching the young Kryptonian carefully he decided that weights were going to be a useless form of working out since the boy could lift a car that weighed a ton, the weights in the gym didn't even come close to comparison. So he showed the boy Dick's uneven bars that the teen so often came into use.

With ease, Conner did flips and somersaults in the air and catching himself on the bars without bending or breaking them. Bruce watched as the boy got into what he was doing and took a step back as Conner took a running jump at the bars, this time instead of grabbing the bar he practically flew over them and landed across the spacious room. He did more than just hover over the ground like he had done before, this wasn't something Dick did on the trapeze, Conner had one hand out in front of him balled up into a fist as he literally flew over the bars. Something he had only ever seen Superman do, he was so glad that Jason had not witnessed that.

Glancing over at the open gym door he found no one around as he told Conner. "That was great. Have you been practicing that?"

Turning Conner realized what he had done and said. "No, not really. I can't believe I did that! I flew!"

"That you did, it was not jumping or hovering it was straight up flying. Good job Conner." Bruce told him as the boy started to back up to try again.

"Let's save more of that for when our house guest leaves, we don't want him walking in on you being mid air 10 feet off the ground now do we?"

"Your right that wouldn't be good. I don't know what came over me, one minute I was going to take a running jump at the bars the next I was flying."

Bruce felt some pride well up inside of him as he had witnessed a first for Conner, Superman may have witnessed him hover for the first time, but Bruce witnessed the first actual flight. He was just glad the boy couldn't fly far yet or he would have another door where the wall was.

It was then that Dick came running into the room. "Bruce, Commissioner Gordon is on the phone, he want's to talk to you."

Bruce nodded to the younger boy and left for his study. Dick stood there and looked over at Conner. "So what have you two been up to in here?"

"I flew for the first time," Conner told him proudly.

"Totally cool! How high did you go?"

"Those bars are how high?" Conner asked pointing behind him.

"I'd say around 9 feet or more off the ground."

"I scaled clear over them. And had a perfect landing." Conner told him, Dick slightly elbowed him to be quite as Jason entered the room.

"I thought you were coming back?" Jason asked stopping in the doorway.

"I am, just had to tell Bruce about the phone call from Commissioner Gordon."

"He coming to get me today?" Jason asked.

Before he could answer Bruce returned. "So Jason, that was the Commissioner, he said the roads are pretty much cleared but I explained that I am keeping you here until Monday morning."

"Thank you, Bruce. Hey, Dick wanna go play that game again?"

Dick looked up at Bruce before saying. "Sure, I need to ask Bruce something, why don't you run on ahead."

They all waited until Jason was out of earshot. "What's up chum?"

"Can I help with Conner's training? With the flying?"

Looking between the boys Bruce told him. "Not right now since it's so new, we don't yet know how far he can fly. I am going to take him to the cave and train him some more with flying since the ceilings are higher in there. I need you to keep Jason occupied if you would."

"But Bruce I wanna help!"

"I know, and you have. Right now we can't have Jason wandering around the Mansion poking his nose in places he shouldn't be. Now please take Jason back to the game room." Bruce missed the hurt in Dick's expression as he walked away.

Turning his attention to Conner he told him. "Alright, lets head downstairs and do some more training with this new ability."

* * *

Jason had fallen asleep an hour or so later and Dick was bored. Getting up he pulled the door shut to the game room and went to the Batcave.

Something caught his ears as he got to the final step. _"You think Robin's better than Superboy? I doubt that!"_

Dick could hear them sparring and then Bruce replied. _"Robin has trained for years. But you have more potential than him in some areas."_

Dick felt his face grow pale, and his heart drop. A tear came to his eye as he ran back up the stairs without the other two realizing that he was even down there.

Bruce watched Conner again and this time he told him. "Conner, if you want to reach past Robin's potential then you need to think before you act. You can't react to everything that comes at you."

He knew that comparing the two would get a rise out of Conner, he hoped to see the boy's full potential come through about what he could and could not do.

"Robin has more self-discipline and less impulse than you do. He's got pure raw talent that can't be matched by anyone when it comes to these areas." Bruce told him as Conner once again feeling the effects of the Red Sun Device as he sparred with Bruce. Normally he didn't use it when sparring with him but this time Bruce wanted to test his strength himself and add in some other grounds to work on after they had just worked over half an hour on his flying skill he managed to develop.

Bruce had no idea that Dick had heard them down in the cave, he also didn't have any idea that he had caused the boy pain like no other.

* * *

With tears in his eyes, Dick had run straight to his room and closed the door, at this point, he didn't care if Jason woke up alone or not. Right now all that mattered was getting Bruce's voice out of his head.

" _Robin has trained for years. But you have more potential than him in some areas."_

Pacing his room Dick tried to make sense of what Bruce had said. There was no denying that Bruce thought Conner was better than him. _Is that why Batman brought Superboy here? I thought he was just tired of him being ignored by Superman? I'm so feeling the aster right now…_

Putting a plan in mind he made his preparations for Monday morning, he knew what he had to do. Now if only he knew how to do it correctly.

* * *

 **A/N:** Bet you're tired of cliffhangers? Or not. Stay tuned for what will come in chapter 21. What is Dick planning to do? Why did he get so upset so easily?

I have a group on Facebook called **Batman Writers Unite** we are a group dedicated to having all kinds of fun. You don't have to be a writer to join.


	21. Runaway

Another day and more snow later and it was Monday morning. Dick was sitting in the living room watching the news. He still felt horrible about what he had heard Saturday from Bruce, he didn't want to let Bruce know anything was different so he acted normally. The only difference was when he asked to go out plowing again Dick refused.

Dick was watching the news when they told of a circus coming to town. Frowning Dick started getting ideas into his head. Getting up off the couch he headed up to Jason's temporary room and peeked inside. He saw the boy tying his shoes and asked.

"Hey, Jase. Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Looking up startled he said. "Sure, come on in."

Shutting the door he took a glance out the window and saw the sun slowly rising in the distance.

"What's up?"

Dick smiled knowingly at the younger boy as he sat on the trunk at the foot of the bed and started talking.

* * *

The two younger boys joined Bruce and Conner at the table closer to 7, Bruce had noticed that Dick had been up previously and well before anyone else. _Maybe he's just going to miss his new friend and wanted to spend some more time with him?_

Bruce took note how the boys seemed to be up to something but brushed it off as he read his morning newspaper and had his coffee.

Half-hour later they drove to the city together, little did Bruce know that things were about to take a turn.

* * *

Bruce dropped Conner and Dick off at school and took Jason to the CPS office. Jason froze and asked quickly. "Are they going to send me back to the Center? I thought you said that I was going to an orphanage?"

Looking back in the rearview mirror Bruce told him gently. "You are, but I have to stop by here to meet with your social worker. Jim told me that she would meet with me about where you would be placed."

Getting out of the car he watched Jason climb out slowly. He looked better in his clean clothes after Alfred washed them and the boy didn't complain about being in any pain with the cut on his leg. As they walked into the building a smiling familiar face greeted them.

"Good morning Bruce."

Turning Bruce saw Conner's social worker May coming towards them. Jason looked up at Bruce confused. "You know her?"

"Yes, she's helping me adopt Conner." Turning back to May he said. "I understand that Jason is now in your care?"

"Yes, his social worker has been terminated around an hour ago after our boss realized that he had put Jason in the Detention Center after his time was served."

Bruce frowned and asked. "How long was his sentence there?"

"For attempted burglary, 30 days. He's been in there for 3 months, thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. Was he hurt by chance?" May asked seeing the rip in Jason's pant leg.

"He has a cut on his leg and bruises old and fresh all over his body. He's been bullied pretty badly from what I understand." Bruce told her.

Jason frowned and asked. "So am I going to that orphanage you told me about?"

"Yes dear, you will go to the Wayne Foundation Boys Home until a permanent place is found for you," May explained. "Do you have any belongings that you would like to take with you?"

"Nah, they threw out all my shit when I went to lock up..." "Jason, we talked about language," Bruce told him firmly.

"Sorry, anyway ma'am, all my stuff was trashed because it had roaches on them. The only reason I got these clothes was because they washed them real good. Kinda sucks that they got ripped but what can I do about that?" Jason told her more politely.

"Well, we will just see what is in the donation box. Most kids in foster care leave some of their belongings behind if they've outgrown them or what not."

Bruce had been busy while the two were talking, using a desk near where they were talking and was writing a check. Turning back to May he told her as he handed her the check. "That won't be necessary May, here, get him anything he may need."

May took the check from Bruce that was made out to her for Jason's clothing and other personal items. "Bruce, you don't have to do this, the Wayne Foundation donates clothes for the boys to wear I'm sure there's another cause this could go to."

"Nonsense, take it. Let Jason get what he needs, please I insist. The boy deserves a second chance in life. Besides, it might be bad luck to wear clothes from children who didn't get adopted out."

"I wasn't aware you were a superstitious man, Mr. Wayne?" May said cocking an eyebrow.

Shrugging he told her. "I'm normally not. I am just speaking from experience."

Jason stood on tip toes to see the check when he saw the amount he told Bruce. "Thanks, Mr. Wayne. That's cool of you, you know you don't have to do that for me."

"I know, well I better get going. Let me know how he's adjusting to the Boy's Home."

May placed a hand on Jason's shoulder and told him. "Will do Bruce, and thanks again for bringing this to our attention."

"I thought Bruce was going to take me to the orphanage?" Jason asked looking up at her.

"He was until he saw who your social worker was, I am helping him gain custody of Conner Kent so he knows I am trustworthy. He's not a man that takes trust lightly kiddo."

Jason watched the older man go and told May. "I'll remember that."

* * *

Dick had watched Bruce drive away and followed Conner into the school, he knew his and Jason's plan had to work out. He had to wait for just the right moment, Jason had told him about a small traveling circus that was strolling through Gotham.

Hours went by and lunch time rolled around, he had tried to keep up his good nature like he normally would have. But Bruce's words kept coming back to haunt him. _He doesn't think I'm good enough to be his sidekick anymore… I'll show him._

Looking around the lunch room he saw Conner sitting with some of the older boys not paying attention to him at all. Dick got up and put his trash where it belonged and used his Robin skills to slip out the side door. No one noticed him slip away, not even the teachers.

Slipping through the school yard Dick made his way off the grounds, still not being noticed. He knew Bruce kept trackers on him by way of having them sewn into his clothes, so he had to change. He saw the Boy's Home, coming into view and saw who he was looking for.

The shorter boy told him. "Bout time you show up."

"Hush, I can't just up and leave without raising attention to myself. You got what I asked you for?" Dick asked in a hushed voice.

"Yep, got it out of the donation bin, it's your size and should help you move around at night without being seen."

Dick held up a black undershirt, black hoodie sweatshirt, and black jeans. "Thanks."

Going to the dumpster he changed his clothes and handed them to Jason. "Thanks, kid, I owe you one."

"You owe me more than that if we get caught! Be careful out there."

"I will. See ya around."

Dick left the Boy's Home and found a place where he could hide until dark which was hours away.

* * *

Bruce was sitting in his office at Wayne Enterprise when his desk phone rang. "Hello?" _Who would be calling me at this time of day?_

" _Mr. Wayne? This is the Headmaster at Richard Grayson's school. I regret to inform you that after lunch he did not return to class as he was supposed to. I spoke with your other ward, Conner and he didn't know where Richard went."_

Bruce was to his feet in a second and shouted. "He what! How is it that a school of your size looses one 13-year-old boy! Have you called the police?"

" _Mr. Wayne, I understand your upset. Honestly, I have no idea how he got away from the lunch room monitor. No, we have not informed the authorities yet."_

Bruce tried to control his angry breathing as he said through clenched teeth. "So no one knows where he went? How long ago did lunch end?"

He glanced down at his desk clock _1:45._

" _Lunch ended at noon."_

"So he's been gone for at least two hours cause I know lunch starts at what? 11 or so."

" _11:30 for his group, Mr. Kent was actually late getting back to class because he was looking for Richard when he told me. When we searched the premises and didn't find him that's when we called you."_

"So it still took you 2 hours to come up empty handed."

" _Yes sir, I am very sorry."_

Bruce felt his temper rise again and then he said. "Have Conner get his assignments for the rest of the day and meet me at the front gates in 30 minutes. We are going to find my son, call me if by chance you do hear from him."

" _Yes sir, I will get Mr. Kent for you."_

Bruce slammed the phone down and tried to figure out what happened. He glared at the phone for several moments before pushing a button on the phone for Lucius's office.

" _Hey, Bruce what's up?"_

"I am stepping out of the office for the rest of the day, and possibly tomorrow too. Dick's missing, the school called. I am going to start searching for him."

" _Are you going to call the police?"_

"If I can find him on my own it would be better, I will call in the authorities if I can't find him within the next hour or so."

" _I will call your cell if he happens to come here or calls."_

"Thanks."

Hanging up he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. _What could have happened? Did he get kidnapped? Did he run away? I guess I better head down to the school and find out._

Bruce grabbed his coat and headed out the door. He ignored the stares he got from his employees as he half ran to the elevators. Once on the ground floor, he took off for the parking garage where his car was and drove quickly to the school watching the sidewalks and allies on his way for any signs of his missing son.

* * *

Dick knew at least two hours had passed and he was freezing cold. _Why did I have to do this in the middle of winter?_

He shrugged off the cold and took to the side streets of Gotham and away from passing cars that could recognize him. The last thing he wanted was for Bruce to find him so soon. He knew full well the school had to have called by now and knowing his adoptive father he was out looking for him without calling the police first.

With that in mind, he moved on to the fairgrounds that were more than a mile away. He would reach it by dark. Keeping in mind that this was the last night that the circus was in town. _A circus that travels during winter… they must be hard up on money if they are traveling at this time of year._

He saw a small coffee shop that was along one of the side streets and stepped in out of the freezing temperatures. He had a little cash in his pockets and purchased a hot chocolate to warm up with. The cashier watched him for the longest time before going back to cleaning off the counters and restocking cups. Dick left the shop and continued on his way. He made a crucial mistake in going near the main road.

"Dick? Dick hey stop!" The familiar sound of Bruce's voice carried over the sound of traffic. Pretending not to hear him Dick turned down and alley and out of sight quickly. Climbing on a fire escape he raced across the rooftops. Careful not to be seen by the traffic below. Once he was a good several blocks away he continued on to the fair grounds where once he was in sight of it, he could see they were packing up.

He noticed how worn out the workers were and the animals cages smelled horrible. He saw the trainer whip a few of the elephants for not going into their cage when told to. Dick frowned at how the animals were being treated. _Do I really want to go with them?_

"Hey watch it, kid!" Dick ducked as a long pole nearly hits him on the head when he got too close. He saw a large man holding one end of the pole as he put it on the back of a long trailer. Once it was up there he turned to Dick.

"Who are you kid? Never seen you round here before." The man asked walking up to him. He easily would be as tall if not taller than Bruce with thick black hair that hung nearly to his shoulders. His tan skin and dark brown eyes told Dick this man was Latino, or at the very least judging by his accent.

"I'm Richard Grayson. I was wondering if you guys needed any help?"

"Grayson? Huh, where have I heard that name before?" He looked over to a short white woman wearing a long dark robe and turban on her head. "Hey Pauline, you ever hear of a Grayson?"

Dick wondered if they remembered his parents? They were pretty well known after all. Pauline shouted back. "Yeah, I heard of em. The Flying Grayson's from Haley's Circus. But they died years ago, no thanks to that weirdo that tried to scam money off Haley."

"Huh, so you knew them Grayson's or is your last name a coincidence?" The man asked.

Dick was hesitant to answer, but he did. "I was their son."

By now Pauline had wandered over and said. "I'll be damned, Richie Grayson? Is that really you? Damn you've really grown up."

"You know this kid?"

Pauline gave him a dirty look before replying. "Yes Frank, I know Richie. He and his folks parked in our lot down in Florida a lot several years back."

"That's fore you came to join this lot isn't it?" Frank replied.

"Yep, so Richie? What ever happened to ya? I thought yous got adopted?" Pauline asked.

Dick wasn't sure how much information to really give these people. "I bounced from one place to the next."

"Awe man sorry kid. That's a tough break. So whatcha doing down here?" Frank asked.

Before Dick could ask the circus manager walked over, his face red with anger. "I am not paying you to stand around and talk! Get that shit loaded up and I mean now."

Frank and Pauline jumped slightly and faced Dick for a second before taking off. The circus manager was a balding heavy-set man, he was about 5'6 or 5'7.

"Who are you kid? You lost? Do I need to call your mommy?"

Dick swallowed hard and told him. "I'm Richard Grayson, no I'm not lost. I was wondering if you needed help? I used to be in an act at Haley's Circus."

Giving the boy a slight unsure look he asked. "Really? What act?"

"I was part of the Flying Grayson's, I was their son," Dick replied nervously.

"I heard of em, I heard about how they died too. Tough break kid, you been out of practice for too many years. I ain't got time to re-train you." The big man turned away and Dick put his hand on his arm.

"No, wait! You don't have to retrain me. I remember the acts and how to do flips."

The large man yanked his arm out of Dick's grip and glared back down at him. "Fine, you can tag along. But the second you show me you can't keep up, yous gone. Got it?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you."

"So who ya belong to? A brat like you couldn't still be living on the streets or is ya?"

"I've been in foster care, I uh, I ran away actually. But don't worry, no one will miss me."

The older man studied him for a long time before saying. "I seen your face somewhere before? Besides on them posters."

"Nah couldn't be me."

The closer the older man looked the more it dawned on him. "Well I'll be damned, you're Wayne's ward, Dick Grayson. That billionaire socialite. Why you run away from him? He hurt ya or something?"

Dick tried to come up with an excuse that wouldn't damage Bruce's reputation, though he was mad at the man he didn't want to bald face lie about him. "He's always so busy, he never has time to actually be around. So I ran away."

The older man rubbed his chin with his hand and thought for a moment. "So Wayne is too busy for ya huh? Well kid, come on you can join us, we'll pay attention to ya."

Dick had a bad feeling about this man, the way he looked at him was unsettling. When Dick didn't follow right away the man grabbed his arm and said. "Come on kid, we gotta lot of work to do before nightfall. Then we gotta get outta town."

* * *

 _Hours earlier…_

Bruce drove to the school and stormed into the office, he caught Conner's eye as he passed by. The boy wouldn't look at him for a moment. "I'm not mad at you Conner, so don't worry about it. Go get in the car."

Nodding once Conner darted out of the office and towards the parking lot. The Headmaster stepped out of his office and saw Bruce. "Mr. Wayne, I am so sorry about this."

"Still no sign of my boy?" He wasn't in the mood for small talk.

"No sir, we haven't seen him."

"Have you checked the surveillance videos?" Bruce asked firmly.

"No, not yet..." "Well damn, it don't you think that would have been a great idea?" Bruce interrupted angrily.

The older man walked over to the surveillance TV and popped out the tape. "This is the tape from the day, this covers the entire school inside and out. Feel free to have a look."

Frowning hard he told the man. "I intend to."

Stalking out of the office he stormed down the hall towards Dick's locker taking the padlock in his hand he gave it one hard jerk and broke it free. Opening it he saw all of Dick's books, pictures and his backpack still inside the locker. Grabbing a couple of notebooks and other items he thought would be useful in his search he shoved it all in the backpack and stormed out of the school.

Opening the car door he threw the backpack in the back seat and sat down in the driver's side slamming the door shut. "Such idiots!"

Conner was silent as they pulled out of the parking lot. Once they were more than a block away Conner sensed it was safe to speak. "Do- do you think that he's been kidnapped?"

Bruce glanced over at him and replied back still angry. "I'm not sure at this point, he could have been but then again he knows to try and yell for help or he is allowed to fight back using his Robin skills."

Pulling his cell phone out of his jacket pocket he dialed Richard's number and tried calling him. The car was silent for a short time before a buzzing sound could be heard. Conner turned around and looked back at the bag in the back seat. Reaching back he grabbed the bag and pulled out Dick's phone.

Tapping Bruce on the arm he held up the phone with the word 'Bruce' flashing across the screen. Letting out a frustrated growl Bruce threw his phone in the cup holder and gripped the steering wheel tighter. They drove around the area for quite a while before Conner spotted a figure that matched Dick walking quickly along the sidewalk looking for an exit.

"Bruce? Is that Dick?"

Glancing at the figure in question he replied. "Impossible, Dick was wearing his uniform."

Bruce rolled down the window and they both watched the teenage boy pick up his pace just a little after glancing back behind him. Bruce frowned and shouted out the open window. "Dick? Dick Grayson is that you?"

The boy went from walking fast to running down an ally. "There's your answer Bruce, I think Dick ran away."

"But why? I thought he was happy about everything going on?"

"He never said a thing to me, I thought he was OK with everything too. He has obviously changed clothes and ditched his backpack and phone so you couldn't track him. But where will he go? Should we chase him? Call the police?"

"We wouldn't be able to track him by day, you know as well as I do he's pretty fast when he doesn't want to get caught. He won't be on the move after nightfall so we will set off then. I'm calling in Superman so we have an extra set of eyes and ears. We could always call the police but they won't be of much help."

Conner tried to hone in on his x-ray vision that was slowly developing, but he still couldn't see from a long distance yet.

Bruce drove around the block but lost sight of Dick, he looked up to the roofs but still didn't see him. He knew his boy well if he didn't want to be found then he would disappear without a trace.

Letting out a frustrated growl he turned the car back in the direction of Wayne Manor. Once home he headed to the Batcave after telling Alfred what had transpired, Conner followed along silently. Knowing that saying anything at this point would only anger Bruce further.

* * *

It was now late into the evening, Dick kept looking out of the window of the trailer he was staying in with Pauline. They had long since packed up and were planning on moving out before daybreak. _I wonder if Batman is out there looking for me? I know Bruce saw me, Conner was with him._ _Am I doing the right thing? Running away like this? Bruce would probably send me away for running away like I did anyway and keep Conner. After all, he's the better crime-fighter, Bruce even said so._

"Penny for your thoughts kiddo." Pauline said as she sat down at the small table across from him.

Shrugging Dick told her. "It's nothing."

"Don't look like nothing kid. You worried about your old man finding you? Or do ya think he's too busy to even look?" She asked nearly hitting the nail on the head.

Shrugging again Dick replied back. "I guess a little of both. He's a powerful man, who runs most of Gotham City."

"Was he mean to ya? Is that why you ran off?"

Thinking Dick told her. "No, he's a good man, it's just… well, I don't know."

Pauline could tell the boy was struggling with something, she told him softly. "It's OK hun, you don't have to talk about it right now. But I'm here if you ever need someone to talk to."

"Thanks, hey what is the Circus Manager's name?"

Pauline looked at him seriously and told the young teen. "His name's Bud, but you have to call him 'sir' at all times when speaking to him. We never use his name."

"How come? Is he mean?" Dick asked leaning forward.

"He gets grumpy when you don't show him proper respect. Richie, you best take good care of yourself while you're with us. Now that Bud knows your old man is Bruce Wayne he may try and scam money from him. Use you as bait."

"Great… so basically I just got myself kidnapped?" Dick asked with a slight sigh.

Sitting back Pauline told him gently. "Probably, but let's see what happens OK? You need to be cautious of some of the performers around here Richie. Frank and Bud have known each other for many years, I don't trust him hardly at all. Now the trapeze artists are alright folks, Don and Marcia along with Don's two brothers and Marcia's sister have been with the circus for a long time. They are a tight nit bunch and don't like competition."

Dick was silent for several moments before asking. "What does Bud do when someone steps out of line?"

Pauline paled at the question and told him softly. "Oh, honey… let's hope you never have to find out."

* * *

 **A/N:** OK guys I really hope you all are reading this authors note. For several chapters, there will be mentions of abuse and mistreatment. There will be some graphic details but nothing to the point of the rating changing to this story. I will put a warning up on the top of each chapter. This won't last long so please stay with me.

 **Also:** I am aware obviously that Richard's nickname has always been Dick, the only person allowed to give him another nickname is my OC Pauline. She calls him Richie.


	22. Regret

After their talk, Pauline showed the young teen where he could sleep. She woke him early the next morning with a light shake.

"Richie? Honey, it's time to go." Pauline told him gently.

Dick opened his eyes and looked around the small trailer, he could hear Bud outside shouting orders. He could see that the sky was still dark and asked. "What time is it?"

"4 am sweetheart, now come on. We don't want Bud to get angry if we are not getting around fast enough."

Dick groaned and got off the couch he was sleeping on. He fumbled with his shoe laces and followed Pauline out of the trailer.

She began locking the trailer up and getting it ready to be hauled to the train up the road for the next stop. Dick was helping her when a rough hand grabbed the back of his hoodie and yanked him back.

Looking up into the darkened face of Bud, Dick swallowed hard. The spotlights did not do the shadow of this large man any justice.

"Boy, yous going to help get the animals ready for transport. Now get your ass over there and help Betreeva get those animals ready."

"Yes, sir," Dick said without hesitation and ran off to help her.

It took over half an hour to get the animals rounded up and put in their cages. Bud had been watching Dick work from the center of the activity. _So this kid ran away from Wayne huh? Well, I bet the last of the Grayson's will work out very well in my favor._

"Alright, everyone! Get in your vehicles and let's move out! Grayson! You come with me! The rest of you get moving! NOW!" He bellowed.

Dick swallowed the lump in in his throat as he walked over to Bud, this man just didn't sit well with him at all. He half wondered if it was too late now to turn back. But seeing the look on this man's face made him think twice.

"Yes, sir? Did I do something wrong?" Dick remembered what Pauline had told him as he tried to remain respectful.

"See that big red van over at the edge of the lot? Go start it then get in the back with the Trapeze artists. That's where you're going to be, you won't start there but you will be joining them shortly."

Dick took the offered keys and raced quickly to the van. _I'm still in Gotham, I should just make a run for it and pray Batman finds me. This seems so wrong, Bud seems so dark. I have to think about this before I leave town._

Going to the van Dick opened the door where a tall blond man was crouched in the back. He turned as Dick slid into the driver's seat and started the vehicle. "So it's true? Bud's got a new performer? So kid, what's your act?"

"Trapeze, I haven't performed in awhile but I remember most of the routines."

Dick then climbed in the back and sat near a young girl about his age but with red hair and green eyes. She smiled at him and said softly. "Hi, my name's Grace, this is my sister Sonia. And you're name is?"

"Richard Grayson." He said a bit hesitantly.

The three boys on the bench across from the girls stared at him for a moment before the oldest of the three stated. "Your that falling Grayson kid ain't you? The boy that lived?"

"Can it Greg he's not Harry Potter!"

"Just saying Grace," Greg replied folding his arms across his broad chest.

Dick rolled his eyes and then replied. "My parents were murdered, someone had loosened the bolts on the trapeze."

"So how do you know it was murder? And not some accident? I mean come on why would anyone target you?" Greg asked.

Dick felt his temper begin to rise as he replied back. "Maybe because Tony Zucco tried to get money from Haley's Circus so instead of paying, Haley declined. He looked over at my folks who were checking the wires and getting ready for our show and told Haley he would hate to see an 'accident' happen because he didn't cooperate."

Greg raised an eyebrow and told him. "Really? How do you know about this so much in detail? What were you? The eyewitness?"

"As a matter of fact, yeah, I was the eyewitness. I was forced to watch as my parents fell to their deaths, then got thrown into the Juvenal Detention Center because the orphanage was full and no one else wanted to bother with a circus brat! The only other person to give two shits about me was Bruce Wayne!" Dick's voice began to raise in volume.

Greg frowned and stood up the best he could in the van, standing over Dick who still sat near the girls, his temper had been reached to the max.

"So let me get this straight, you slipped through the cracks of CPS, was taken in by one of the richest men in town, only to run away years later. And what was your reason for running away? Not getting enough attention? Or did he not get you something you wanted so you decided to run away?"

Just as Dick stood up the back doors were jerked open and a very angry Bud was standing there. "What is going on in here? Grayson, did you get the van started like I told you to?"

It was obvious that Dick had started it, the van's engine was none too silent.

"Uh yeah, you can tell from the exhaust coming from below your feet and for the fact that you can hear the engine pretty loudly." Dick shot back.

The five trapeze artists paled as Bud put one knee on the bumper of the van and reached in to take Dick roughly by the arm and yank him out. Once out of the van Dick noticed that none of the other circus people were around.

 _Crap, they must have all loaded up…_ Dick looked up at Bud with hesitation in his eyes. He could see the man was clearly angry for how red in the face as the man appeared to be. Slamming the door behind the boy Bud whirled him around and said angrily to him. "Just what the hell are you starting trouble with my fliers for?"

"But I'm not..." Dick started to reply just as Bud slapped him hard.

"Don't you ever get smart with me boy. You were told to start the van and sit in back with the others. Not to start fights with them, one more outburst from you and I'll see to it that you never fly again." Bud opened the door again and threw Dick inside.

Turning he shouted. "Alright, let's move out!"

* * *

On the other side of Gotham Batman and Superboy were patrolling the city looking for their missing bird.

Superboy was looking out the Batmobile's window searching for Dick when he asked. "Why did he run away? Is it because of me? I don't think I've done anything to make him this mad."

Batman stared straight ahead for several minutes then looked off to the side at the dark busy street. Letting out a sigh he glanced over at Superboy and then replied. "It's like I said, Dick doesn't take change well. Something must have upset him enough to be this drastic. I just can't figure out what happened. He seemed to be doing just fine. Are you sure he didn't say anything to you?"

Shaking his head Superboy replied. "No, He didn't say anything to me at all."

Thinking about the last couple of months, Batman couldn't think of a single thing that would have caused his little bird to fly like this. He hoped that Dick would return on his own, but if not he would have to come up with a cover story in the meantime.

* * *

Dick road in the back of the van with the 5 aerialists as they drove on the open road. He kept his eye on the three boys since they seemed to be the only other ones to be causing problems for him.

 _One full day hasn't gone by yet, and already I'm regretting my decision. Guess it's too late to turn back now. So much for worlds greatest detective in training…_

Dick stayed quiet for the entire ride to their next destination. He looked out the back window as the lights from Gotham slipped away into the early morning hours as they drove down the highway. The sun was just coming up over the horizon when the van stopped.

Bud turned around and told them. "Alright, I gotta run into the gas station. Boy, you stay here, the rest of you come with me."

Dick frowned as he sat in the back of the van as the rest of the trapeze artists got out. He peaked out the window and tried to see where they were at. He couldn't see much besides open road and a large gray pole belonging to the gas station sign. Aside from that, there wasn't much to see. His arm still hurt from where he landed on it, but he knew better than to do anything.

Listening he heard Bud's loud voice getting close to the van. Sitting back in his seat he waited as the group piled back in. Greg looked at the smaller boy and motioned for his brothers to take their seats, the girls got in behind them.

Bud climbed in and looked back. "Hey, boy, get up here."

Dick looked at the other three boys then back to Bud.

Waving his hand at the teen he stated firmly. "Yeah, I'm talkin to you boy. Now get up here."

Dick stood and walked to the front of the van. "Listen, boy, yous gonna do what I say and when I say ya hear me? Now, sit here and be the navigator. Read this map and tell me where to go next."

Taking the worn out map he unfolded it and saw that was an old map of Missouri, looking in the top righthand corner he saw the date being from the late 1970's. _Wonder how much of this map has changed? I sure hope he doesn't expect me to navigate from Gotham to Missouri with a Missouri only map._

In the back of the van12-year-old Ernest sat by his older two brothers and watched as Dick kept looking between the map and Bud. They had been to Gotham a few times and then driven to Missouri, without Bud catching him or his brothers, he slid out of his seat quietly and moved to the far right near the door and whispered to Dick.

"Hey, Bud is only trying to bully you, he knows that is the wrong map. Listen, we are going to be out of Gotham soon, so we need to turn right and take that interstate for about 50 miles then turn right and cross over to the next major highway. I will give you a signal for when to tell him to turn ok? I was his navigator when we came here. Just do what I say and everything will be fine."

Dick nodded in understanding and waited for them to exit Gotham, he saw up ahead a bridge with a sign and told Bud. "Turn here, then go right."

Bud grunted in response but followed directions. After a while had passed Dick became more worried about Bruce's reaction to all of this. _I hope I haven't screwed up Conner's adoption… That would be a total disaster._

Dick watched as state after state sign went by them, he just knew he had made a mistake. _I wonder if I should have listened just a little longer? Maybe Bruce didn't mean what he had said? I am so whelmed right now._

He couldn't think about that right now, he had to keep his mind clear and focused on the road ahead then he would think of a plan of escape. He had brought with him a little cash he had in his room, so the next chance he got he would call Bruce.

They pulled over in Nashville to grab a bite and have a break. Ernest watched the older boy as Bud lead him to a table beside the other adults and felt his stomach flip-flop. He knew how Bud operated and knew all the tricks.

Greg put a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention. "Come on Ernie, leave the rich boy alone. I saw you giving him tips earlier. Just remember that Bud don't like anyone giving his navigator tips. You of all people should know that."

"Yeah, but… I don't want him hurt jus cuz I didn't help him none. It ain't his fault that Bud is a jerk." Ernie defended.

"Now you listen here smart ass, you keep your lip shut if you know what's good fer ya. Sides, Bud got us away from Ma and Pa. He can't be all bad now can he? He got the girls away from the shit hole they lived in, gave us all jobs and trained us real good. Now how can someone like that be all bad?"

Ernie frowned deeply as he let his brother's words sink in. "Fine whatever you say brother dear. Just remember that Karma's a bitch."

The youngest threw back as he stormed over to their table next to his older brother Brett. The 16-year-old glanced over at his older brother but didn't say a word to him. Looking over at Dick Ernie knew the boy didn't belong here. Bud was a dangerous man and those who didn't fear him were nuts.

* * *

Back in Gotham Bruce was frustrated, after a night of failed attempts to find Dick, he and Conner went back to the Batcave to search for clues. Bruce knew Conner never got tired due to his Kryptonian DNA so after a while he called for a break.

Alfred came downstairs after a while and asked. "Any luck sir?"

Shaking his head Bruce looked back at the monitors. "His last known location had been the orphanage. But when we got there we found out from Jason that Dick had, in fact, come to him with the idea of exchanging clothing before Dick ran off. But the boy didn't know why Dick wanted to, just that he wanted to run away so Jason helped him without question."

Alfred looked up at the large monitor and said with his voice full of concern. "Sir, you really should get some rest. It does Master Dick no good if you exhaust yourself. We will find him sir, but it's not going to be this very second. I suggest you get some sleep as well and then go to work for a little while, I will see to Master Conner."

Bruce shook his head and replied back. "I'm fine."

Alfred left the cave and went upstairs to check on Conner. As he walked up the stairs he kept thinking about the missing teen. Standing outside Conner's door he hesitated for a moment before opening the door and finding the older boy sitting by the window.

"Master Conner I must insist that you get some sleep. Staying awake is doing no one any good."

Conner looked over at Alfred and asked. "So, is it my fault that he ran away? Did I do something wrong?"

Taking the desk chair from its place at the desk Alfred sat next to Conner and told him firmly. "Now you stop thinking that way this instant. Master Bruce has explained to you that Richard has difficulty adjusting to new situations. He must have bottled his feelings up again."

Frowning he asked. "He's run away before?"

Letting out a sigh he told the lad. "When he first came here, he had a lot of difficulties getting used to the new way of life. It was just before he became Robin that he slipped out of the safety of the Manor and jernied into the city to conduct his own investigation into his parents killer. He was angry with Bruce for working such late hours and never spending time with him. He was angry with me for not forcing Bruce to stay home more often and not allowing him to roam the grounds without supervision. He found Zucco at the circus grounds."

"Yeah, Dick told me about how he saved Batman as Robin," Conner added in.

"I see Master Dick has told you this story?"

"Yeah. So is he mad because Bruce took me in too? What if some day he decided to take in a third boy? Or girl even? Is Dick gonna run away every time something changes?" Conner asked looking back out the window as the sky just began to get light once more.

"Hopefully if that day ever comes Master Dick will be older and wiser."

A voice from the doorway cut into their thoughts. "We can only hope, Conner, I think I found something that might give us some idea as to why Dick ran away."

Sitting up straighter Conner asked. "Really? What did you find Bruce?"

Bruce walked into the room and sat on Conner's bed. "Remember when we were training over the weekend? Well, I found in the Batcave's security camera that Dick had come down there, and then was seen leaving quickly. I think he heard at least part of our conversation. I think his anger and jealousy got the better of him and he took off. He left his cellphone behind. But something he doesn't know is he has a small pin size homing transmitter embedded in his left arm just below the skin. I implanted it once after a fight that had rendered him unconscious, it was another time he had been captured by the enemy. We can track him down but if he's out of range we will have to keep going until we find him."

"How far does he have to be to be out of range?" Conner asked.

"Close to about a mile or so. I will have to use the Batplane to locate him."

Standing up Conner stated. "So what are we sitting around here for? Let's go find him!"

Bruce stood and put his hand on the teen's shoulder. "It's not that easy. Dick could be miles from here. We don't even know how he's traveling, he could have jumped a train for all we know. I can use the plane and try to get a signal, but he may be out of state by now."

Alfred was standing by now as well and told them. "I will check the Manor's security camera and find out what time he left the grounds."

Glancing over at his faithful butler Bruce told him. "Dick ran off from school grounds, but there's no telling if maybe he came here before running away. Unless he planned this and was ready when he left the school."

"Are there any major highways that run between here and Metropolis? Maybe he went there?" Conner asked as the three walked out of the room.

Bruce thought for a moment as they walked to the entrance to the Batcave once again. "Possible but not probable. He would not be able to stay out of Superman's radar for very long. If Dick did get spotted in Metropolis then Superman would ask if I was with him."

"Dick may just lie and say you were." Conner threw in.

Bruce stopped in mid step and turned to the teen. "Conner, you do realize that Superman has the power to detect a person's vital signs. When you lie your heart rate goes up. Dick can lie to a normal person, but not to Superman."

"Should we ask Clark if he's seen him?" Conner suggested.

Bruce let out a breath and told him. "No, not yet. Let's see if we can find anything out on the cameras first. I will fly later this afternoon and see if I can find anything along the countryside. If I still can't find anything we will call in the Justice League."

"The entire League for just one person?"

"The League knows how important Dick is to me, if just Superman knows, you can bet he will tell the others," Bruce told him as he walked the rest of the way into the cool cave and sat back at the computer.

Alfred had been silent for a little bit when he asked the question that had been bothering him. "This isn't going to hurt the adoption is it?"

Bruce turned to his butler and told him firmly. "No, it shouldn't just as long as we keep this out of the news. If CPS catches wind of this, then I will be in deep trouble for not reporting it sooner."

Conner watched as Bruce worked on the Batcomputer. He wanted to help, but he didn't know how. His phone beeped in his pocket. Pulling it out he saw it was Wally.

Wally: _Hey, why isn't Dick answering his phone?_

Conner: _He ran away, he overheard Bruce say something and evidently he was jealous too, so he took off. We don't know how far he's gotten._

Wally: _Aw crap, what can I do to help?_

Conner looked up to make sure Bruce wasn't aware of what he was doing.

Conner: _Bruce said that Dick has a transmitter in him. Dick didn't know about it. If you can see if you can track him on the mountain's computer._

Wally: _OK, give me some time and I will try to locate him. How's Wolf adjusting?_

Conner: _Good, he's up sleeping in my room at the moment._

"If you're trying to get The Team involved I suggest you don't," Bruce said without turning around in his seat.

"Well, why not? Some of them might be able to help find him. And how did you know I was talking to one of the team?" Conner asked walking up beside the older man.

Bruce looked up at Conner and said softly. "Because you are exactly like your father. Clark would tell the League the second he found out. Which, judging by your reaction, you just did with The Team. Before we involve anyone else let's try and do this ourselves alright. I know you think of Dick as a younger brother, but do what is best for him right now and let us handle it ok?"

Nodding Conner replied back. "Yes, sir." Conner yawned and started to walk to the med bay where there was a couch to sleep on when he asked. "Can KF at last help? Please?"

Bruce looked up at the teen thoughtfully and replied. "Only Wallace. No one else. Besides none of the other members of the team know Robin's identity."

Conner gave him a sleepy grin and told him. "Thanks."

Alfred watched the boy leave to go lay down and asked. "I thought Kryptonians never got tired?"

Bruce didn't look up from typing some commands as he replied. "He is half human, even he has his limits. Why don't you take the day off and rest Alfred, I can handle making a pot of coffee if I need it."

"What about food Master Bruce?"

"Is there still fruit up in the kitchen?"

"Yes, sir I believe there is."

"Then I will be fine, go get some rest. And don't worry about me, I may take a nap before taking off later."

Relief flooded Alfred's features as he replied. "Thank you, sir, I shall be able to rest now knowing you will too soon."

Bruce watched as the computer tried to pick up a signal of where Dick could be. He didn't even know when he did it, but he fell asleep sitting up.

* * *

 **A/N:** You all still with me? I am sooooo sorry about how long it took to update. I had some personal things going on at home that had to be dealt with. Just know that I am back and nothing will keep me away again.


	23. The Search Begins

**Warning:** Mild language.

* * *

The drive to Missouri was a long one, they stopped a couple of times but kept driving right through to Branson where they were going to have a show. Dick had not been in the Midwest since he was a little boy. He looked out the window as they pulled up to the fairgrounds.

"Alright boy, now I expect you to keep yer mouth shut and help unload and then reload the trailers," Bud told Dick as he shut the engine off to the van. The five artists that sat in the back but kept quiet Ernest kept vigil over everything even though he didn't really want to listen to his oldest brother and stay out of Bud's business. He knew something wasn't right. That his new found friend was the key to everything.

Dick got out of the van and looked around at the gloomy gray skyline of Missouri. _Jeez_ _, I wonder how much of a lecture I'm gonna get if and when I ever get out of here. I bet Bruce is worried, why was it again I left?_

Lost in his thoughts he followed Bud to some of the trailers to help unload. None of the workers spoke to him unless it was necessary. Dick felt Ernest's eyes on him as he helped set up the cages for the animals that were due to arrive later that day by train he noticed there were not that many cages. He saw Pauline off in the distance and walked over to her. She looked up at him from where she squatted down and pulled out the ropes for the tent.

"Hey sweetheart, are you ok? I saw Bud rough you up some before we left."

Nodding Dick told her softly. "I'm fine. No need to get worried about me. I can take care of myself. I was wondering. Do any of you have a cell phone?"

Pauline looked around worriedly before whispering. "I do, but if Bud ever caught me with it I would be in a world of trouble. I keep it in my trailer for safe keeping, what do you need it for?"

Dick looked over at Ernest who was watching him closely with his eyes squinted at him and his scrawny arms across his chest. Ernest didn't look like his brothers since he was small for being 12 with sandy hair and blue eyes.

Ignoring the younger boy Dick asked. "What is Bud's problem? Why is he so controlling?"

Pauline hesitantly put a hand on Dick's shoulder and told him. "Honey, we will talk about that later. Please, if you want to stay outta trouble just help me get the tent ready to be put up alright, then I want you to go over and help with the cages."

Nodding in understanding Dick told her. "OK."

The work began with putting up the tent and getting the cages set up around back, about an hour or two into set up the big rigs arrived with the animals that were unloaded off the train and onto the trucks. Without being told Dick helped get the animals off the trucks. He noticed that the lions were skinny, the elephants had open sores on their trunks and feet, and the tiger looked worn out and old. Frowning hard Dick looked over his shoulder at Bud who was barking orders at the side of the enormous tent.

After getting the last animal in their cage Dick slipped away to Pauline's trailer, looking around he saw no one as he started with the kitchen and looked in the drawers for her cell phone. He didn't want her to get into trouble for having it. Going into the mini living room he took note that she didn't have much, searching through one of the drawers he found a piece of paper folded up and tucked neatly in the back.

 _What am I doing? I could always find a payphone. Uh, have I completely lost my mind? Why didn't I just go talk to Bruce instead of jumping the gun and running off? Too late now I guess. I better get out of here before I get caught._

Shutting the trailer door behind him he raced back to the tent, it didn't seem like anyone noticed that he was even gone. He jumped in to help set up the trapeze and check the ropes. He kept thinking back to the night his parents died and how the cables had bet sliced.

"Hey, Potter!" Groaning Dick was disliking his new nickname Greg had given him already, granted this was only the first time since the Harry Potter crack the evening before, he was already sick of hearing it.

"What do you want Greg?" Dick replied back as he handed Brett the ropes that he was going to hang for the net that would go up. Dick didn't understand the reason for the net since he never used one but this was a different circus and they had their own rules.

Greg leaned against the pole ladder and folded his arms. "So, how was it again that your parents fell during a show and died? Didn't you all have a net?"

Tensing his shoulders but not raising to the bait as he helped Bret get the first half of the net up.

"Oh come on _Potter_ you're the boy that lived! How did you not fall? Did mommy and daddy decide you weren't old enough to swing on the trapeze?" Greg taunted him.

Brett frowned down at his brother and told him. "Leave him alone Greg, and sides his name ain't _Potter._ He doesn't have a lunatic wizard after him, he doesn't have powers. His name's Dick, so leave him alone."

Looking up at his younger brother Greg put a foot on the rung of the ladder and pulled himself up so he was closer to his brother. Getting directly into Brett's face he told him hotly. "You listen here shit head. Keep your damn mouth out of this."

Frowning deeply Brett shot back. "Screw you, Greg, tha kid ain't ever did nothin to bug you! It ain't his fault that we are here too!"

"If we had a father like Wayne we wouldn't have run away. We would have stayed put where we would have all the money we would ever want." Greg told him firmly.

"Is that what you really think? That he was some charity case? We don't know him, or his story. Ma and Pa didn't know the Grayson's or the Wayne's, it's not our place to judge someone because of where they come from. Or who their parents are. You of all people should know that." Brett fired back.

Dick had long since gotten the net hung up and was working on the upper platforms getting those ready when he heard the arguing. He looked over and saw Bud coming towards the brothers down below he swung his legs over the edge of the platform and started down the ladder when he heard.

"GRAYSON! Stay put! Brett, Greg get your sorry asses over here now!" Bud's face was beet red as the two older boys hurried over to Bud. Dick couldn't hear what he said to the boys from the distance but he saw Bud look back up at him.

"You best get over to the lion pen and make sure it's cleaned out. He's going to be our main event tonight, also make sure the rings are up for him to jump through."

"Yes, sir." Dick climbed down about half way he did a flip off and did a perfect landing on the floor.

He watched as Bud glanced at him then took both teenagers by the back of the arm and dragged them behind a curtain on the other side of the tent. The next thing Dick heard was the sound of something hitting flesh. Dick cringed and tried to ignore the sound of crying and screaming. The hero inside him wanted so badly to go over there and save them but he knew deep down if he did it might reveal who he is.

Tears formed in his eyes as his fists clenched at his side. _I can't just stand here and do nothing! Batman wouldn't just stand here!_

Swallowing hard Dick made a mad dash for the screaming teens and stopped short of the curtain that shielded them. Taking a deep breath he let it out, pulling the curtain back he saw both boys with their shirts off and deep red welts caused by the leather strap Bud used to whip them with.

Bud paid him no attention as Dick grabbed the strap from the man's hand and shouted. "Stop! Leave them alone!"

Startled, Bud looked down at Dick and his face got red with anger. Taking his hand he smacked the smaller teen across the face and told him. "How dare you! Who the hell do you think you are! I'll teach you!"

In saying he pulled his foot back and kicked the fallen teen to the dirt floor. Dick recovered quickly and jumped to his feet. Brett and Greg were speechless as they watched Dick try and take Bud down. But the situation quickly resolved when Bud took hold of the smaller teen's shirt and held him close to his face.

"Ya ever try that shit again and I will make sure you will wish you were never born!" He punched and kicked Dick a few more times before saying. "You're gonna fly tonight boy, no practicing. We will just see if the final Grayson can keep from falling."

Dick's lip was bleeding and he had scrapes on his hands but he didn't say a word to Bud as the man stormed away. The brothers stood there in shock as they stared at Dick.

Brett walked over to Dick as he buttoned up his shirt. "Why did you do that? You know you're on his list now right? Ain't no one stand up to Bud and tell the tale later."

"Yeah, I am wanting to know that too? Hell, I've been a royal ass to you since you arrived." Greg added in.

Using the sleeve of his jacket Dick wiped the blood from his lip and replied. "Well, I was taught that all evil needs are for good men to sit and do nothing."

"You not a man! You're just a kid! A scrawny little pipsqueak!" Greg shot back.

"That's not the point lame brain. The point is if Bud is allowed to continue to treat people like this then he will never stop." Dick explained trying not to get overly frustrated.

"Hey, Richie! Are you OK hun? What happened to your lip?" Pauline asked fussing over him like a mother hen.

"I'm fine. I just..."

Brett cut in. "He saved our asses that's what he did. He took a beating for us."

Looking shocked at the boy she knew since he was a toddler Pauline looked between the three. "Richie! I told you about him, oh lord now your on that man's bad side. Richie I won't always be there to protect you."

Dick gave her a considering look and told her. "I'll be fine, Bruce taught me a lot about self-defense and how to take care of myself when dealing with bullies. Trust me I have dealt with a lot of but heads in Gotham."

"But Dickie boy you ain't in Gotham no more. Bud will take you out when he said he's gonna let you fly tonight. He plans on removing that net..." Greg started to explain.

"Boy, this child was trained to fly without the safety net," Pauline told him firmly.

Dick gave the boys a smirk and told them. "Brett go to the far end, Greg spot me. Let me show you how to do some 'Flying Grayson' moves."

"But Bud said..."

"I don't give two craps what Bud said Brett, besides he's not even still in the tent. What I am going to teach you is actually quite simple by my family's standers." Dick explained as he jogged back to the ladder.

His side hurt a little from Bud kicking him but he ignored it and climbed up to the top. As he climbed he took note of the opening at the top of the tent and he knew there was a crawl space small enough for him and it went straight to the top of the tent and lead outside. As he got onto the platform he formulated a plan in his mind and hoped it would work.

Pauline watched from below as Dick instructed the two older boys to do a routine on the trapeze that she had only seen Dick, John and Mary Grayson do up there. She watched as Dick performed his quadruple somersault that he had learned the summer before his parent's murder. It was like he had never left the circus. She knew his parents would be so proud if they could see their son now.

Dick looked down and saw Pauline watching as he did the old routine. Pride was in her eyes along with some sadness. Concentrating on the bar ahead he finished the routine and began the climb down. Greg and Brett were out of breath by the time they joined Dick below the trapeze.

"Grayson, how in the world did you do that? That was amazing man." Greg told him as he patting the younger teen on the back.

Dick smiled wide at him and replied back. "Been doing this since I was pretty little, I can show you guys all kinds of stuff that will blow your minds."

"Awesome!" Brett told him excitedly.

The girls had just entered the big top when the laughter died down.

"What seems to be so funny?" Grace asked as she and Sonia walked over.

Brett grinned from ear to ear and told her. "Grayson taught us an awesome stunt! You'll love it!"

"YOU BRATS BETTER BE GETTING EVERYTHING SET UP FOR TONIGHTS SHOW! OR THERE WILL BE AN ASS WHOOPIN FOR ALL OF YOU!" They all heard Bud's order and took off and spread out getting ready for the show.

* * *

Conner had waited until Bruce had finally fallen asleep before going to the Mountain with Wolf in toe. Artemis, M'Gann, Kaldur, and Wally were in the living room of the mountain when he got there. Wally spun around and said enthusiastically. "Hey Conner, what's up?"

"Have you finally finished the mission?" M'Gann asked.

"I take it the mission was a successful one?" Kaldur commented.

"Yeah, we got mission accomplished… but um… Robin's missing. He uh and Batman had I guess a disagreement and he took off. Batman didn't want me to say anything but I think this is something we could help him with."

"Why would he do that? What was the argument about?" Kaldur wanted to know. Wally elbowed him and told him flatly. "Probably none of our business. So how can we help?"

"If Batman didn't want us to know I don't think we should do anything. I really don't wanna get on his bad side." Artemis told them.

"He's not as bad as you think. He's actually quite fare." Conner retorted.

"Pff, yeah right. And my uncle doesn't have as bad of a temper!" Artemis shot back.

"She makes a valid point Superboy, Green Arrow has a temper and so does Batman. Besides if he wanted our help then why did he not ask us himself?" Kaldur asked while trying to keep the peace between his friends.

Wally frowned and stood beside Superboy. "I'm helping if Bats gets mad then so be it, but Rob is my friend, and I am gonna try and help find him with or without your help."

Conner looked over at his girlfriend and asked. "M'Gann? What about you?"

M'Gann was standing off to the side, she could feel the tension in the room. After a few moments, she told them. "Robin is a sweet boy, and he may be the youngest of us all who has the most experience in this field… but we can't turn our backs on him. He's become our little brother, we can't turn our backs on him, not now after he has helped us all so much and pulled us out of trouble more times than we would like to."

Conner gave her a half smile and said. "Thank you. Alright if you need us we will be looking for Robin by using the tracker in the computer room."

This was enough to get Artemis's attention. "A what? Batman had a tracker on him this entire time? Why didn't he use it before?"

"Because he was not sure if Robin was out of range or not. He tried a couple of times but he didn't show up on the radar. So he is going to try tonight to fly the countryside to see if he is out near or past the fair grounds." Conner explained.

"What is the distance that the tracker covers?" Kaldur asked walking closer to the three.

"One mile I think was what Batman said. Or maybe a mile and a half." Conner replied back.

Kaldur glanced over at M'Gann and asked. "Can you get a reading of him from this distance?"

M'Gann put her fingers at her temples and concentrated hard. The others watched and waited for her to pick Robin up in some way.

"I'm sorry, but he is out of range. Maybe we should use the bioship and fly around the country then maybe I can get a reading."

"Best not go near Gotham, if Conner's going against Batman's wishes then we will all wind up in huge trouble if he finds out," Wally told them, then added. "And steer clear of Metropolis. The last thing we need is Superman on our tails too. I doubt that Robin went there anyway. But we should continue west at any rate to find him."

"Good point, If we anger Batman or Superman then we risk getting banned from any missions for a while," Kaldur told his friends.

Wally had seen both of the men's tempers before and didn't wish to anger either of them. "I vote we split up. Superboy and I will travel by land, you guys travel by air and we can cover more ground that way."

"Kid Flash makes an excellent point. Let's move out team, we don't know what kind of danger Robin may be in. So, Kid, you and Superboy travel northwest and we will cover southwest. Hopefully one of our groups should find him." Kaldur had no idea that he had the perfect plan and that it would lead Wally on the road to finding his best friend first.

"Alright, let's move out," Wally announced.

The two waited until the other three were out of site before Wally said. "Let's go to the cave and see if Rob has a spare costume, the last thing we need are those guys discovering Robin's identity."

The two went to the Batcave via Zeta Tube, when they came through they were faced with an extremely worried Bruce Wayne and Alfred.

"Conner where have you… Wallace? What are you doing here?" Bruce demanded to know.

The two boys looked at each other before Conner answered. "I went to the Mountain to talk to him, he asked about Dick and I told him that Dick was missing. So he came back to help us look."

Deep down he knew it wasn't a total lie, but he was afraid of straight up lying to this man that chose to take him in and make him his second son. But he knew he was skating on thin ice by leaving the house without permission and then bringing back Wally to help in the search.

Bruce looked at both boys for several moments before saying. "We can handle this ourselves. I don't want anyone else involved."

"But Bruce, we have M'Gann that has the ability to read minds and emotions, and Wally can run fast. Please can't they help." Conner pleaded.

Frowning deeply Bruce asked him. "Did you tell Miss Martian who Dick was?"

"No sir, he said Robin, not Dick who has disappeared." Wally chimed in.

"Did it ever occur to the two of you that if the other team members do find him first that they will no doubt find out that Robin is Dick Grayson?" Bruce told them crossing his arms across his broad chest.

The boys looked at each other before Conner stood up straighter and told Bruce confidently. "I told Aqualad, M'Gann, and Artemis to go South West but to steer clear of Metropolis as not to alert Superman to something being wrong in Gotham."

"That's all fine young sir, but how can you be so sure that Master Dick has gone South West?" Alfred inquired stepping up beside Bruce.

Both teens felt defeated, just as Wally turned to go back to the mountain Conner grabbed his arm and stated firmly to Bruce. "You always tell us to go with our gut instinct, well mine says he is North West. Now we are going to go look for him, with or without your help."

"Conner Kent, don't ever use that tone with me. I am not saying we won't go looking for him, but you can't rush out there half cocked. You need to plan a strategy, for starters, we don't know if he's been kidnapped, or if he is simply hiding. He has attempted to run away before..." Bruce paused for a moment, then walked over to the Batcomputer quickly and typed on the keyboard quickly. A thought had come to mind.

Conner and Wally stood on either side of him when clowns popped up on the screen along with a strong man and other characters from the circus Bruce turned towards Alfred.

"He really did it this time. He threatened it years ago but I think he finally did it." Bruce announced worry thick in his voice.

"He did what?" Conner asked curiously.

Bruce looked up at him and replied. "He ran away to the circus, but he's not with Haley's Circus. This one is much more low budget and only travels within the US and not international."

Clicking on a few more links Bruce brought up the next stop the circus was making: Branson, Missouri.

"Where is Branson?" Conner asked curiously.

Wally told him quickly. "Just a cool town in Missouri where there are all kinds of things to see and do!"

"Ah hem, Master Wallace would do good, not to over exaggerate on details. Young sir, Branson Missouri is indeed a town in the state. But to be more specific it's located on the southern border of Missouri close to its neighboring state of Arkansas." Alfred told them.

Bruce pulled up the map of Missouri and then printed it out. "Alright, Wallace if you really want to help us, then I want you to scout ahead. Take this and go to Branson, if you find Dick before we get there keep an eye on him, don't try and rescue him. We don't know fully what is going on, if he ran away or if he's been kidnapped."

"Yes sir, when do I leave?"

Bruce thought for just a moment before answering. "Conner and I will scope out the country side first tonight in the Batplane, then if we don't find anything we will send you on west. We will come with you and follow you but will be combing the area just in case he's not in Branson. If he happens to be there I want you to alert me at once then keep an eye on him."

Soluting Bruce Wally told him firmly. "Yes sir, I will get ready to go as soon as you tell me to."

"Good, I will contact Barry and tell him what is going on, but only him. No one else in the Justice League is allowed to know what is going on until I say so."

"Sounds good. Do you want me to go back to the mountain?"

"No, you can stay here at the Manor, otherwise the others may get suspicious," Bruce explained as he stood up. Taking the map out of the printer he turned back to the boys, "Let's go have a late lunch then we will start planning our trips. We will find Dick one way or another."

They all headed towards the stairs, Wally asked from behind Conner. "Bruce, what if CPS finds out? What will happen to the adoption?"

Without turning around Bruce replied back. "We will find him before that happens."

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry for the long wait guys, life got busy again. I should be updating much sooner, I know I said that last time but now I have the internet and no more serious stress going on so I don't have any excuse for not updating regularly.


	24. To the rescue

It was nightfall in Branson Missouri, the streets were busy with citizens either going to work or coming home, but there were some people that were going to the fairgrounds to see the circus that had come to town. The air was slightly cool for the time of year but people still came to see the acts.

Dick and the rest of the trapeze artists stood behind the curtain while Bud made his announcements and introductions. There were a couple of acts before they went up.

The girls were up first then the boys, they were a little nervous about the performance they were going to be doing. For anyone who had ever seen the Flying Grayson's they were sure to know that Dick was among them.

Dick looked up at the top of the tent and saw an opening he was sure was big enough for him to get through. He had made a silent plan earlier and knew he had to get out of there, he felt deep in his heart he had made a grave mistake. But he just hoped he didn't realize this too late.

"Hey, Dick, we're up let's go," Greg told him.

The four boys made their way up the ladders to their platforms, Dick and Brett went to one platform while the two older boys took post on the other one.

Almost forgetting that he was planning an escape Dick enjoyed himself as he swung from bar to bar with the other boys. Performing the daring stunts that he used to do when he was younger with out the safety of the net.

The performance went on for over half an hour before they were done, Dick did the Grayson's signature moves and got several wow's from the crowd. Looking down at the crowd he didn't see anyone he recognized. At some of his parent's shows, he would see some people that he'd know from other shows they had done. But he didn't see anyone this time. He thought he'd seen something fly past the back of the bleachers but he couldn't be sure. While Bud was distracted he made his move and started climbing quickly to the top of the tent. Once to the top, he made it through thru the opening and into the crisp night air. He looked up and saw a few stars peeking out between the clouds that were overhead. Sliding down the red and white striped roof he made it to the ropes holding the tent up and shimmied down them to the ground below. He found a green backpack and had put a couple of Brett's shirts and jeans in it. He took the clothes he had worn that night he ran away and put them on over his uniform. Putting the bag over his shoulders he quickly slipped away into the night before people could start coming out of the tent in waves.

* * *

Bruce, Wally, and Conner were preparing to leave they knew the timing was everything. They also knew that Dick might be in grave danger. As Wally walked part way down the driveway from Wayne Manor he could hear Batman in his com-link. "Wallace, can you read me?"

"Yes, loud and clear. I am going to make a mad dash once I hit the end of the driveway."

"You know that's almost half a mile right?" He heard Batman say with some irritation in his voice.

"Yes sir, but it will give me some time to memorize the map you gave me."

Batman sat behind the controls of the Batplane and let out a sigh, he knew the boy was somewhat stalling but he gave him some credit. "Ok, be careful though. Contact me the second you find him. Or if you don't find him contact me."

"Yes, sir." Wally closed the connection for the time being and continued walking down the dimming path to the end of the driveway. He got more than half way when he started to run, then in the blink of an eye, he was racing across the countryside.

Passing towns and cities he would slow down on occasion with the off chance that maybe Dick was in one of these towns. Continuing on he stopped just outside of Branson and looked up at the sign for the town. "Hang in there Dick, help's coming," Wally whispered quietly as he zipped through the town and found the fair grounds.

He slipped in unnoticed by anyone behind the bleachers and hid. He looked up as the lights went out and the spotlight went up to the trapeze. He spotted two taller and older teenage boys on one end of the trapeze line and on the other side there were two more only younger. He pulled out his binoculars and tried to zoom in on the two younger boys. His heart raced when he recognized Dick right away, he put his binoculars away and focused on the trapeze act. He was so into watching the act he forgot about contacting Batman.

He had heard stories from Dick about his days in the circus, but they never had the time for Dick to demonstrate his talents in the past. He watched his best friend high above everyone and then it dawned on him _crap! Forgot about contacting Batman!_

When the crowd started cheering Wally slipped out and contacted the caped crusader. "Kid Flash to Batman."

"Come in Kid Flash, what have you found out?" Batman replied.

"He's been sighted, he's up on the trapeze with three other boys, one appears younger than him and the other two are my age or older. A pair of girls, probably sisters were climbing up beside our kid." Kid Flash replied back. He knew he couldn't say Dick's name or Robin for fear of someone putting two and two together.

"Did he seem alright?"

"Yes, from what I could tell. It looks like he got banged up..."

" **Hey! Get back here!"** A booming voice shouted from about 20 feet away. Kid Flash walked quickly to the edge of the tent and saw a small figure take off in the dark and an even larger figure chasing him.

People started to come out of the tent rather quickly. Kid went around to the back entrance rather than under the tent wall like he had done before and noticed the three boys from earlier were looking up at something at the ceiling. The ringmaster was nowhere to be found. A couple of teenage girls passed by and he asked them. "Hey, do you know why the show stopped so quick?"

The brunet giggled and told him, "Yeah, that short kid up on the trapeze, he climbed the pole and went out the roof of the tent. The ring master went after him, boy was he mad."

" _Kid Flash! what's going on! Report!"_ Came Batman's voice in his ear. Kid Flash hit connect again and told him. "He's gone again! He somehow got out the roof of the tent and disappeared into the night. I witnessed the direction he went in."

"Don't just stand there! Go after him! This must mean he's in danger!" Batman roared.

Wally zipped out of the tent and in the direction he'd seen Dick go. Speeding into the darkness he ran into someone which made him stop in his tracks.

"OW! Watch where you're going! Huh? Kid Flash? What are you doing here?" Came a familiar voice in the dark.

Kid Flash jumped up and said quickly. "Ohmygodit'syouDick!I'msogladyou'reok!"

"Wow, slow down there speedster. What are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you, or well keeping you here until Batman gets here," Wally replied back.

"What? Batman's coming? No, you can't let him! Bud might kill him!"

"Really? Joker, Riddler, Penguin, Scarecrow and about half a dozen other gangs and villains have tried and never managed to kill The Batman." Wally said putting his arms across his chest.

"Is uh, Superboy with him?"

"Yes, and he's worried too."

"There you are! Grayson, I have been looking all over for you! Who's this punk your talking to?" Bud demanded as he stood between the boys.

The speedster was thankful that the darkness hid his costume as he said. "I'm Kid Flash, I was sent on a mission from Gotham City to find and return Dick Grayson."

"Oh really? Why didn't Bruce Wayne send the cops after the kid?" Bud asked suspiciously.

Without missing a beat he replied. "The police couldn't be involved due to the pending adoption he is currently going thru."

"He already adopted the kid I thought I had read somewhere."

Dick knew that this was spelling trouble but he said. "Not me, it's Conner Kent, a kid from Gotham City, or well, from Metropolis a friend of Bruce found out he was a father and wasn't able to take him in so he asked Bruce to since he took me in."

Bud unexpectedly reached out into the darkness and grabbed Dick by the shoulder and said. "Then I guess Bruce can just come and get his kid himself instead of sending in reinforcements."

Dick's eyes went wide as he said. "I am pretty sure that if Kid Flash doesn't report in soon that Batman will be here anytime to find out why."

"Yeah, I kind of ignored his last call. I think that Batplane of his is almost as fast as Superman." Kid Flash replied.

Bud couldn't see either of the boy's faces in the dark but he could see the lights of the fairgrounds in the distance and the shadows of both boys. He took hold of Wally and lead both boys forward. "You're coming with us kid."

Wally knew he couldn't use his abilities to get free or he was at risk of exposing who he was. But he did start struggling. "Hey! Let me go you creep!"

"Now… what to do with you two?"

Once Bud got a hold of Dick by the arm too they all saw another figure coming towards them.

"Yo Bud, ya need some help there?"

Dick recognized the voice as Frank, the man he first met when he found the circus.

"Yeah, Grayson thought he could escape, and found out he had a friend with him. Seems like we are in for some Bat problems real soon though. Let's get these two tucked away and load up."

"Bat problems? How the hell did Batman find us?" Frank asked as he took a firm grip on Dick and lead him towards a covered truck parked near the exit.

Holding on to a squirming Wally Bud replied back. "This kid must have gotten in contact with him or something cause he claims to be _Kid Flash._ Last time I knew Flash didn't have a kid!"

Wally glanced over in Dick's direction, he was worried that if they got under the light that Bud would see that he wasn't lying about who he was. He didn't think this plan all the way through.

* * *

From a distance, two elderly men were walking away from the tent and had heard Bud shout.

"What was that all about?" The taller of the two asked.

The shorter of the two, who was little over a decade younger than the taller one replied back. "Don't know, buy my detective skills say let's not leave town yet."

"We've long since retired from that line of work _old chum_ , but when you're right you're right let's go investigate."

Chuckling at his old friends overused nickname for him he told him. "True, we may have retired, but did you notice how that small, dark haired boy up on the trapeze shimmied up the pole and out the roof of the tent? That seemed odd to me, and I swear I saw something whiz behind me in the bleachers."

"You're getting senile in your old age chum, but if it'll surpass your curiosity then we will go check it out."

* * *

Bud and Frank had no way of knowing they were now being watched by to gentlemen, who are retired detectives.

They took the boys to the covered truck and shoved them both inside after binding their hands behind their backs. Wally felt powerless that he couldn't do something to save them. But with luck, Dick didn't loose his backpack in the struggle and the dim light from the truck didn't show his costume.

As soon as the two men slammed the doors shut Wally whispered. "What are you carrying in that backpack?"

"I have sunglasses, three or four sets of clothes and some other supplies," Dick whispered back.

Wally shifted from where he was laying and pressed his back to Dicks, he fumbled for a second before he found the bonds that kept Dick tied up as well. Then he vibrated his way out of his bonds.

They sat up but couldn't see anything in the pitch blackness of the truck. Dick shrugged his backpack off his shoulders and fumbled with the zippers in the dark, feeling around in the pockets he found a flashlight. The light illuminated the area, the boys looked around and Wally stated. "Wow, this truck seems so huge!"

"Yeah, you could even get whelmed by it, until you think about what they are going to be putting in here."

"Besides us?"

"Yeah, they are breaking down the circus now, some of the animals go in this truck," Dick told him.

"Uh… Dude, they don't have air holes!" Wally told Dick.

Letting out a groan of frustration Dick pointed the flashlight up and said. "Dude, look up there. Large vents, and there's some on either side above our heads. But we can't escape from them, too difficult."

"You've been plotting our escape?"

"Duh! I have no clue where our next stop is. But in the meantime, you may want to change clothes."

"Dude, I am bigger than you."

"Brett gave me the clothes that didn't fit him anymore, Bud was gonna throw them out. So he gave them to me. I have a lot of growing to do before I can fit into them and you're about his size maybe slightly smaller. But it'll do for now."

Nodding Wally quickly changed his clothes and stuffed his uniform in the backpack. Moments later the doors opened and the boys scurried to the back as some of the workers brought in cages. A lantern was set in the corner so the workers had some light to work by as they placed fairly good size cages in the back of the truck. Dick didn't like the fact they were going to be kept in the truck with the Tigers, Dogs and the two small house cats that they had in the circus. The lion would be housed in the other truck along with the larger animals. Thankfully the smaller animals were near the back of the large semi truck with the boys rather than the Tigers. Both teenagers stood back and waited till they were done loading. They felt that escaping wasn't a great idea at the moment.

 _Come on Batman, hurry up and get here._ Wally kept thinking to himself as the men loaded the truck.

Once the truck was loaded with animals along with their cages the doors were shut and locked. They could hear Bud bark out an order and an engine start up.

"Crap, we're leaving. Where's the circus's next stop?" Wally whispered.

Dick had a hard time hearing him over top of the cats protesting and dogs barking. "Not sure, but don't get whelmed about it, we should be fine."

"Did you by chance grab any of your Robin gear?"

"Shh! Do you want Bruce to totally annihilate you! That's a good way to do it! No, I did not. I may have made a wrong choice at running away but I'm not suicidal!"

They both know that Bruce would blow a gasket if word got out who Robin really was.

As the truck began to move the boys settled in, luckily the animals calmed down for the most part. Sitting with his back against the side of the truck Dick studied the cages with his flashlight. He kept trying to think of an escape plan to get them out of here.

He looked over at Wally who was starting to fall asleep next to him. "I wonder if we could use the animals as a distraction to escape?"

Wally spoke softly and replied. "It would work, but they would have to make a lot of noise to be heard outside of the truck to get the driver's attention."

"We'll be stopping soon enough and we can try then. Bud may be a pain in the butt but he won't let the animals go without food or water." Dick told his friend softly.

They fell into silence for a few more moments before Dick asked. "Is Conner mad at me?"

"I'm surprised you didn't ask if Bruce was, but no. He thinks he did something to upset you enough to run off."

Dick let out a huff and told him. "Yeah, I know Bruce is, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Conner didn't do anything wrong, I was just being jealous and immature."

"What caused it? Is it because Conner's living with you guys now and Bruce is gonna adopt him?"

"No, well… kind of. I overheard Bruce training Conner and something he said bothered me. But I have had time to think and I think I heard wrong."

"What did you hear?" Wally asked with a frown on his face.

"Bruce told Conner that he had more potential than me in fighting," Dick told him softly.

"Dick, you know full well that Bruce is proud of you. Did you ask him? Or just jump to the conclusion that because he took in Conner that he's replacing you? Cause if you thought even for a second it was the second one I'm gonna feed you to the tiger!"

Dick looked down at the dark floor and answered. "Then you better start feeding her..."

"Richard John Grayson-Wayne! You may be the team genius but dang you can be so dense sometimes! Bruce is proud of you, you should know that by now. You don't know what he was referring too, did you ever stop to think for a second before jumping to conclusions that he could have been talking about the fact that Conner can run faster, jump higher, fly and has more of _supernatural_ potential than you do. Besides you've been training since you were 9 he just started. So when we do get back you owe Bruce and Conner an apology."

Once Wally was done yelling at him Dick told him gently. "I know you're right like I said I have had time to think it over. I know now that's what Bruce was talking about, all the cool stuff that Conner can do that I can't do."

Wally could still sense that there was more to what Dick wanted to say. "Dick, listen, yeah Conner can do all that stuff, but it doesn't change the fact that he loves you unconditionally. Did you know that he hasn't slept since you left? Bruce has worried himself sick over you. Does that sound like someone who doesn't care? Or want's you replaced? You're the son of Bruce Wayne, that comes first before anything else does."

Dick knew the threat of being fed to the tiger had been an empty one, but he couldn't help but know that his best friend was right and that he didn't have anything to worry about back home in regards to being replaced as Robin.

"I wonder how long I'm gonna be grounded for when I get back?"

Wally shook his head and told him. "Probably a while. But let's no focus on that right now, let's plan our next move to get out of here."

* * *

Bruce followed Kid Flash's signal to the fairgrounds in Branson, but he didn't see any sign of the circus by the time he got there. He couldn't help but wonder why the signal was still showing up in Branson if the circus was moving. Landing nearby Batman emerged from his plane and decided to roam the area in search of clues to the disappearance of Kid Flash. He was still kicking himself for not tracking Dick sooner, but there was no point in living in the past. It was imperative that he find his son now before it was too late.

It was nearing midnight as he looked at his watch, he saw two shadows moving in the distance. As they came closer the taller one spoke first. "Batman? That's your name, right? From Gotham?"

"Yes, who are you?" Batman asked as the two old men got closer.

"My name is Adam, and this is my old friend Gervis. We are detectives or at least we used to be anyway. We retired recently. What brings you to Missouri?"

Batman was hesitant to answer but did so anyway. "I came looking for two of my teammates Kid Flash and Robin the boy wonder. They were on an assignment here and have vanished from my radar. Robin was in disguise as a circus performer."

"I thought Batman worked alone?" Gervis asked.

"I did, until a few years ago. Now I look after a team called Young Justice, Robin recently joined the team and became good friends with Kid Flash." Batman explained, he began to feel antsy around these two as time ticked by.

"We saw the ring master haul two kids into a medium sized semi truck. Some of the workers put some animals in there with them." Adam continued.

"Why are you telling me this? You should go to the police if those kids are kidnapped."

"Because I think those two are your boys, I overheard the taller of the boys call himself Kid Flash and we were listening outside the truck and heard this Flash kid call the younger boy Robin," Gervis told him.

"We also heard Kid Flash state that you were tracking him and were on your way here. So we waited, we were detectives that specialized in missing persons, children mostly. They went west from what we saw." Adam told the caped crusader.

"Thank you, that is a help. Any thoughts on what they could have wanted the boys for?"

"I heard some of the performers mention that they had a rich man's kid among them, Grayson I think is what they called him. The ring master his name was Bud I believe said he was calling the kid's father in Gotham." Gervis added.

The father in him wanted to rush off to find his boy, but the hero inside told him to get more information.

"Did you see Grayson with them?"

Both old men shook their heads and Adam told him. "No, we didn't even see Robin, just his short form in the dark. Don't know what Grayson looks like. Didn't see anyone during the acts other than some kid escape going up the pole and out onto the roof. Didn't catch a good look at the kid, it could have been Robin for all we know. You say he was out of uniform so I have no idea if the kid was Grayson or Robin."

 _One and the same_ , "Thank you, gentlemen. I better get back on Kid Flash's trail before it runs cold."

"OK, good luck Batman," Adam told him kindly.

"Thanks, and thank you for the information. If I do happen to find the missing Grayson boy I'll take him back to Gotham with me."

"Good, I'm sure his father misses him terribly," Adam told the hero.

Batman walked back to the plane and got back in the cockpit.

"Any luck?" Came Conner's worried voice in the seat behind him.

"Possibly, Wallace is calling Dick Robin when they are out of sight. Those two old men over there identified one of the boys as Kid Flash. He also said that there's a kid named 'Grayson' on board the circus and evidently he tried to run away. No wonder Kid Flash disobeyed orders and approached Dick he was buying time till I got there but couldn't keep up the act without giving away their identities." Batman told his soon to be son.

Conner nodded _wow, this superhero protecting their identity thing gets even more complicated._

"So what now?"

Batman looked towards the western sky and saw the stars he wondered if Dick was alright, deep inside he knew the boy was strong enough and smart enough to get through this but as a father, he couldn't help but worry.

"We keep going west. Those two men told me that was the direction they took 'Grayson' and Kid Flash, they were pretty sure that 'Robin' was with them. While I was talking to those men I used the remote control in my belt to call for the Batmobile, it should be here shortly. I'm going to give you a crash course in flying the Batplane while we wait on it." Batman said the last part by turning around to see the expression on Conner's face as it was illuminated by the computer consoles.

"Seriously? You'd let me fly this thing?"

"You're going to have to learn at some point. Dick isn't old enough yet, I've actually thought about teaching him but he's just too young."

"But teaching me and not him isn't really fair, he'll get jealous again. What if he runs away because he doesn't think you trust him?" Conner asked with worry in his voice.

"I'll talk to him don't worry, he shouldn't run away again, maybe with the promise that I may train him to fly it but he can't go solo just yet."

"That would ease the tension I think and not make it seem like you're favoring me in some way."

"Then it's settled, I'll teach him this summer. Come on up here and I'll run you through how to fly." Batman told him matter of factually.

* * *

On the ground just about a yard from the plane the two old men stood and watched the duo in the plane. It was difficult to see their faces in the dark but Gervis turned to his friend and told him.

"We're not going to walk away from this without helping are we?"

Giving his old friend a long look in the dark he thought about the past year, his diagnosis, the battle he's been fighting. His reasons for an early retirement. "Not on your life old chum. I know my time here is short, but I want to make the most of it. Come on, let's go west."

The two old men walked as quickly as they were able to their car, Adam insisted on driving first as they got in and buckled up.

They had one last mission to complete before Adam's illness took control permanently leaving behind his family and friends along with Gervis, his surrogate brother...

* * *

 **A/N:** What's up guys! Sorry it took so long RL got in the way again. So, what did you all think of this chapter? Any guesses on who my mystry characters are? Those two are only in this story long enough for Dick to get rescued. I would love to hear your guys oppinions about this chapter.


	25. Escape Plan

The ride was a bumpy one in the back of the truck that carried Dick and Wally across the states. The boys hardly slept, there were occasions that they were allowed out to get a drink of water or go to the bathroom. But they were never allowed to be alone, Dick noticed a car that seemed to be at every rest stop. Dick noticed the two old men watching them as Frankie once again was ushering the boys onto the truck, not saying a word after they got done going to the bathroom at a Shell station in Colorado Dick climbed back in the truck and sat in the back with Wally.

"This is crazy, we have got to think of a way out of here," Dick told his friend as he sat with his knees to his chest and head resting on the cool metal of the truck. The cats kept their meowing up but the dogs quieted down. The smell of poop and pee was strong in their tiny enclosure.

"Yeah, I hate feeling so helpless. I mean I am the fastest kid on the planet but yet I can't do a darn thing because our secret identities could get discovered." Wally told him equally frustrated.

"I know man, look I over heard Frank and Bud talking, we are making a stop in Nevada for a show. When the time's right just follow my lead OK?"

"Gotcha, in the mean time what do we do sit here and listen to the meowing?" Wally asked annoyed.

Dick nodded and told his friend. "Yep pretty much."

The cats were hidden partially from view but They could still be heard. "I'm gonna go see what their problem is." Dick stood up with his flashlight and walked around the now whining dogs to the cats. The tiger growled at him as he stood fairly close to it.

Shining the light on the cats he noticed that there was a small orange tabby cat alone in the far corner. He had a tail longer than his body and seemed timid. "Hey, I don't remember this little guy."

"Who? Did they add a cat while we weren't looking? And what is the point of having cats and dogs in a circus? I thought they only had lions, tigers, and bears? Oh and elephants." Wally asked.

"Some circuses don't have elephants because they are too expensive to care for, or they don't have the staff to train and care for them. So they have dogs and cats that are a little odd or are super smart and can perform tricks easily."

"Oh… that makes sense. So what's with the cats making noise? They had been quiet before our last stop."

Dick didn't get the chance to comment as the truck came to a sudden stop knocking him over and into the side of the tiger's cage.

"Wow!" Dick exclaimed as he jumped to his feet just as the tiger took a swipe at him. "What was that all about?"

Before either boy could speak the doors opened and Frank told them. "Alright boys, get out."

The two squeezed around the tiger cage trying to avoid getting clawed as they came to the edge of the truck they could see the clouds over head were fairly dark and the temperature was cooling down pretty quickly. They stood on the edge of the trailer and looked around.

The sky was clouding over and the air was getting very cool. "Where are we at? Why are we stopping?" Dick asked curiously.

"Because we have 3 flat tires on the truck, there's too much weight for the scissor jack to hold the truck up long enough to change the tires," Bud answered coming from the side of the truck with several men behind him along with the three trapeze brothers.

"Hey who's the new kid?" Greg asked.

"No one, now get on that other side with Henry and Frank to help change the tire. Ernie, you stay here, Brett you go help, Greg." Bud barked out.

Leaving the three boys alone at the tail end of the truck Wally asked. "So who are you, kid? Our guard?"

"Supposed to be, the name's Ernie by the way."

"Wally, I guess it's nice to meet you. So what did he bring us out here for? It's not like he's worried about our safety or anything having us in this thing with a tiger."

"Because if the truck tilts too much it'll roll down the hill you two would die…" Ernie dropped his voice and added, "Dick, Bud contacted your pop in Gotham… He's asking for a large ransom. That's why he wanted you mainly to come out of the truck."

Rolling his eyes Dick told him. "That figures… well, don't worry Bruce will pay any price."

"But will he pay what Bud's asking for though?" Ernie asked worriedly.

Frowning slightly Dick asked. "What's he asking for?"

Looking between the older boys Ernie told them softly. "He's asking for $20,000,000. In cash."

Dick scoffed and told the younger boy. "Pfft, Bruce would pay any price to get me back, that's a little more than most people ask for though."

"Dude? Are you alright?" Wally asked concerned seeing his friend go slightly pale.

Dick looked over at his best friend and muttered. "I'm fine, how much time does Bruce have to hand over the money? What other demands did Bud make?"

Ernie looked around nervously, he knew he would get into so much trouble for discussing this with the two captive teens. "He has less than 48 hours. Anything beyond that and he will dump you off somewhere between Utah and California."

Dick looked over at Wally then back to young Ernie. "What about my friend?"

"That's why the ransom is so high because there's two of ya at stake. Since Bud doesn't know his folks he's just demanding more from Mr. Wayne."

"What changed? Why did Bud suddenly decide to keep me rather than let me run off?"

Ernie could see his older brother Brett glance over at him then back to the task of changing the tire he was working on.

"Bud, he um… he's not a fair man as you can tell… if he sees an opportunity to make money he's gonna go for it. He knew by keeping you with the circus he could get money, he had planned on keeping you with the circus once he was done using you." Ernie paused as he saw his older brother stand and walk their way.

Brett had been listening to part of their conversation, lowering his voice he told the boys. "Bud ain't planning on letting you two go unless Wayne pays the ransom on time. Hope he does for your sake, cause Bud will drop you off or just use that as an empty threat and keep ya around. He's done that one before, told folks to pay the ransom..."

Brett shut his mouth quickly, no one was supposed to know about Bud's side business. Kidnapping and stealing money from wealthy folks.

"What? He's kidnapped before?" Wally asked quietly.

"Yeah, why do Ya think we're here with out parents?" Ernie chimed in.

Dick and Wally shifted to their superhero modes at the sound of that. "You three have been kidnapped too?"

Brett nodded and told them. "Yeah, and those two girls too. They got captured about two years ago, they was yanked from foster care though after their folks were killed in a car crash. They ran away from foster care because of the people they were staying with."

Wally's frown deepened with each word that Brett said. After a few moments of being silent, he replied. "So he randomly snatches kids off the streets to be in his circus? Why; there's gotta be a story behind that. A motive of some kind."

They could hear footsteps on the gravel coming their way. All the boys shut up when Bud came around the corner red faced and sweating from struggling with 3 tires.

"Load up!" Was all he demanded as he stood there with his fists planted on his hips.

Wally jumped up on the bumper of the truck, while Brett and Ernie hurried off back to Bud's van. Just as Dick started to pull himself up onto the bumper as well he felt Bud get a hold of his shirt and yank him back.

"Hold on a minute there boy. Now you listen and you listen good. You behave your self for the next couple of days. I contacted that daddy of yours and told him where abouts you are. Now there's a price on your head for over 20 mil. You cooperate and he'll get his boy back in one piece. Get it?"

Nodding Dick told him. "Got it. But what about Wally? He's not Bruce's son."

"Well I told Brucie about our hitch hiker and he said he will pay any amount to get you boys back. He didn't seem to happy when I mentioned the second kid but he'd pay the ransom regardless to make sure he got you back at the very least."

"Bruce will see thru your antics, and when he finds out what you've been up to he'll see to it that justice is served!"

Bud raised his hand and Dick braced himself as the big man slapped him across the face hard enough to make his head turn.

"Don't sass me, boy. And just what antics do you think I have been up to?"

Dick looked up at a furious Wally then back to Bud. "Kidnapping and abuse. Bruce doesn't tolerate bullies, just ask the Detention Center where I got thrown after my parent's deaths when the system didn't have time to find me a place."

Frowning deeply Bud told him. "You know what brat, I don't give two shits about your damn past. Who in their right mind, other than Wayne, would want a circus brat?"

"You answered your own question, you moron." Dick shot back.

 _This kid's got guts, he's much different than the other brats I took in._ Bud frowned deeper if that was even possible and told him. "Keep that smart ass mouth of yours in check boy, or Brucie will be finding pieces of you all over the damn country!"

Dick had long forgotten how cool the air had gotten since being out of that stuffy truck they had been in for hours.

Bud grabbed Dick by the arm and threw him into the back of the truck. Dick winced in pain when he landed painfully on his right arm.

"Dick! Bud, you're a bastard for treating kids this way!" Wally shouted as he raced to his best friend's side.

"Watch your self boy or you'll be next!" Bud threatened as he slammed the doors shut and locked them. They could hear the man grumble as he stomped off towards his van.

Wally knelt down next to Dick who had landed painfully on his right arm. The younger boy was rubbing it and looked up at his friend. "I think it's broke, hurts too much to move. This is the last thing we needed to have happened."

Wally shrugged his flannel shirt off buttoned it up then gently cradled Dick's injured arm and tied the sleeves on the left side of his neck making a sling with the shirt.

"There, that should do for now. We've gotta get out of here before anything else happens. Bruce will want to get you back in one piece."

They were silent for a moment listening to the tiger's heavy breathing from behind them. After they felt the truck jolt to life the boys silently made their way back to where they were sitting. Dick's arm felt a little better now that he had it in a sling, but any fast attempts of an escape might prove to be difficult. The temperature in the back of the truck dropped and they could hear the wind howling outside.

"Must be a storm rolling in," Wally commented softly.

The small kitten in the cat cage started crying again. "You know what? I'm surprised that Bud keeps that kitten around for as loud as he is."

Wishing he had thought to grab his Robin gear or at least his communicator. Dick sat back and just listened to the kitten meow and Wally complain about it.

* * *

Sometime later the truck came to a stop they could hear Bud outside talking to the drivers of their truck then footsteps over frozen ground could be heard. With in moments, the back of the truck was opened and Bud ordered. "Get out. Now."

Both boys climbed to their feet, Wally lead the way slowly while Dick hung back out of sight for a second. He acted as though he dropped his backpack beside the cat cage.

"Grayson! Hurry up! That damn storm will be here any freaking second!" Bud barked at him.

Standing back up he used his good arm to sling his backpack over his shoulder, quickly following Wally he jumped off the end of the truck and followed close behind his friend as they walked towards a cabin near by.

"Why are we stopping?" Wally demanded.

Bud looked back once they were on the porch. "I sent the others on ahead and told them we would meet up in a few days time. We are meeting Wayne in the morning for the payoff in Roosevelt, Utah. But there's a damn storm coming and we need to find shelter."

"Why in Utah?" Dick asked curiously.

Bud took hold of the boy by the back of his neck and shoved him into the cabin and told him. "Shut up and get inside. It's not any of your damn business."

Frank came up behind holding Wally by the arm and shut the door hard behind them. The cabin was three bedroom on only one floor. It was quite spacious, they were standing in the living room where there was a wood burning fireplace along the far wall with a rocker and couch in front of it. A large red area rug laid in front of the fireplace. On the other side was a rectangular table with 6 chairs, and a small kitchen with a wood cooking stove.

Frank took hold of Dick by the good arm and dragged both boys to one of the bedrooms. "Now I spect you boys behave yo selves for the rest of the night. Wouldn't be in y'all best interest to get roughed up any more than necessary."

Dick lost his footing and landed painfully on his broken arm, he held in a cry of pain when he went down on the wood floor. Wally stood his ground and told him. "You won't get away with this!"

"Already have kid," Frank said that last statement and slammed the door shut.

The room was dim due to the dark red curtains that hung along the large window. Wally flipped on the light. Thankfully the bulb was good and it lit the room really well. He saw Dick start to sit up, he noticed the tears welling up in Dick's eyes.

"You OK?" Wally asked as he undid the knot of his shirt and looked at Dick's now very swollen arm, the black and purple bruises ran from his wrist up to just below his elbow. His hand was swollen too but not as bad as the rest of it.

"Dang, either it's really really broken now, or it's just getting worse."

"How bad's the pain?" Wally asked concern written all over his face.

Dick made an attempt to move his fingers, with much difficulty he moved his index finger and thumb but it was painful to do.

"If the pain scale ran from 0-100 I'd have to say 200."

"You look good for a guy in that much pain," Wally commented as he noticed a bathroom off to one side of the room.

Getting up he walked in and found some wash cloths, towels and used bars of soap. Opening up the cabinet above the sink he found a stack of clean paper cups, a large bottle of Ibuprofen, a small bottle of Tylenol, and Advil. Looking out the door he saw Dick climb to his feet and sit on the edge of the queen bed.

"You allergic to any medicine?"

Shaking his head Dick told him. "No, check the expiration dates before opening those. What else is up there?"

"Odds and in's, nothing of major importance. But the biggest find was the pain medicine."

Dick held his bad arm across his chest as he got back up and joined his friend in the bathroom. He bent down and opened the drawers, finding nothing but cobwebs he stood up and told him. "Not much here."

"Nope, there's not." Seeing that the Advil had expired he threw it in the waste basket near him and pulled out the remaining two.

Dick saw the expiration date on the Ibuprofen and told Wally. "That's still good, here give me two."

Reaching up he took one of the cups and filled it with cold water. Wally handed him two of the pills and watched Dick take the medicine.

The bottle was pretty full containing over 90 tablets left in it out of 100, he put it in his pocket and turned to Dick. "We better get some sleep. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow."

"You know he's not gonna let us go right? He's got the last of the Graysons, Bud will most likely use me to get to Bruce or even worse to Haley.

Bud came in shortly and put two plates of Rice and beans on the dresser and told them. "Eat up, we move out in the morning."

Wally looked at the food and then back to Dick. "Gross."

"Hey, it's better than nothing," Dick told him as he took a plate for himself and sat down with the spoon provided.

"The rice is a little hard, obviously they don't know how to cook properly," Wally commented.

"Clearly," Dick told him.

After eating half his plate Wally stood up and started rummaging the drawers of the bedroom. "Yes!" came the soft exclamation.

"What did you find?" Dick asked him.

Wally held up the small silver disk with letters and two arrows on the front. "A compass, and from the looks of it the thing is old but works still."

"What good is that thing gonna do us from here?"

Wally walked over and told his friend. "The Dick Grayson I know wouldn't give up so easily. Come on once those two idiots go to sleep we can plot our escape."

* * *

 _Hours later..._

The wind howled as Wally looked out the window, he noticed the trees swaying in the wind. Snow started to fall, this was going to be interesting.

Dick watched him as he laid on his side, he was trying to stay awake, but the pain in his arm had died down so much that his body screamed for sleep.

Wally looked over Dick's head at the clock on the nightstand, 8:45, he let out a sigh and sat on the edge of the bed looking down at Dick struggling to stay awake.

"Get some sleep Dick, I'll wake you when it's time OK? Dumb and Dumber are still awake."

Nodding but not verbally replying Dick's eye lids lost the battle and his breathing evened out as the boy fell asleep.

 _Wow, he must have been tired. I wonder what ever happened to those two old guys that had been following us? I haven't seen them for a while now._

The room was cool due to the door being shut not allowing the warm air from the fire to warm the room. He looked over and saw Dick start to shiver. _Something we hadn't thought about… him going into shock._

Taking a quilt out of the closet he draped it over Dick and shut the light off over head. Turning on the bathroom light and pulling the door most of the way he went and sat in the chair by the window. He kept looking at the clock as Dick slept peacefully.

Thinking hard about how he was going to get them out of here in the dead of the night he almost missed hearing the sound of Bud and Frank going to their respective rooms. Wally stood at the door and listened to the two men shut the doors before opening their door slowly. Thankfully it didn't squeak as he opened it. Tip toeing into the kitchen he looked in the cabinets and found boxes of snacks he could put in the backpack. Setting stuff out on the table he began to look around quietly he found a large cloth bag in the closet and filled it with more boxed food and some batteries along with another flashlight and a couple of lanterns. He opened the backpack and found a surprise in it. He jumped when a little orange kitten popped out at him.

He spoke softly to the tiny kitten. "You're the little squirt from the truck aren't you?"

A soft meow was his only reply followed by a soft purr.

Deciding that Dick had his reasons for taking the kitten he zipped it back up and put all the supplies in the extra bag. He also to his luck found a first aid kit filled with anything they could need. He looked back up in the cabinets and found several big cans of tuna. Looking through one of the drawers he came across a can opener. Putting those in the bag he hauled the two bags back to the room shutting the door quietly. He was surprised the kitten had not made any noise so far, he peeked back out the door and heard snoring coming from the two rooms. Wally had also found some old clothes that could be very useful for keeping them warm in the dropping cold temperatures.

Looking back at the clock he saw it was after 1 in the morning. He went over and woke his best friend up. Once he got the boy awake he told him.

"It's time. They went to bed about an hour ago, I have been getting supplies." Wally told his friend as he pulled his shoes back on. Wally had to help him tie them because his right hand was useless. Wally also retied Dick's arm in the sling to keep it from getting any more injured.

Dick mumbled a thank you before following his friend out the front door of the cabin. It was pitch black outside but at least the wind died down and the snow had not fallen too much so it was more of a light dusting. Using the ropes on the bag Wally put them on his shoulders like a backpack and looked at the compass with his flashlight.

"OK, we need to go east. Once we have traveled far enough from here I can use my super speed to get us a little further."

Dick nodded, Wally frowned at how silent his friend had become. Putting his hand on the younger boys forehead he said. "Dick, you're running a fever. Maybe we shouldn't do this."

"I'll be fine, let's just go," Dick replied back walking east as the compass showed. Thankfully they could travel by road before they needed to go into the forest. Wally only hoped that they didn't run across any wildlife on their new adventure.

Better yet, he hoped they didn't run into their captors...

* * *

 **A/N:** Here you go, guys! An update as promised! Check out my group on Facebook: **Batman Writers Unite**. It's a fun group and as of today, the group has been around for exactly 1 year. July 16, 2016, was the day the group was created starting out with only myself and a friend. Now has grown to 88 members. I would love to see it hit 100 by the end of the month! So please come join us reach this goal! Please let me know what you guys think of this chapter.


	26. On the run

**A/N:** Hey guys, hope you guys like the new chapter please pay close attention to the disclaimer below.

 **Disclaimer:** I am borrowing 'Bruce' the big black wolf from Alexandria-likethecityinEgypt with her permission I am using him as a memory that Dick shares with Wally. I do not own him or any aspect of the memory that is shared. If you would like to read her story titled 'Batwolf' then you will get the chance to read about 'Bruce' the wolf. It's a great story so check it out.

* * *

 _1 day earlier…_

Batman was flying the Batplane over Missouri and along the border to Kansas when Alfred contacted him.

"Master Bruce, there is a phone call for you. It's imperative that you take it, sir."

Batman let out a sigh of frustration and asked. "If it's about Wayne Enterprise..."

"No sir, it's about Master Dick and Master West. I do believe it's the kidnapper's, sir."

Batman looked back at Conner and told him. "Stay silent."

Conner nodded as Batman flipped a switch and began landing the plane in a familiar field in Kansas. _They see me and Clark's never going to let me live this down._

"Hello?"

"Ah, Mr. Wayne I presume. I have your boy Grayson in my possession, along with his little buddy it seems, he calls him self Wally West."

Batman put the phone on speaker so that Conner could hear what was said too."What's the ransom?"

Bud let out a chuckle that made Conner's blood boil with anger.

"My my straight to the point ain't we? Well, I was going to just demand 10 million for your boy, but now that I have two brats the money's more than that. 20 Million in cash is to be delivered to Roosevelt, Utah in the next 48 hours. You fail to deliver the money and I shall dump your boys off along side the road."

Batman could hear Conner behind him let out a low growl of anger, not paying him any attention he replied back. "Deal, meet me there at 8 am tomorrow morning. I'll have your cash."

"Boy you are a good guy ain't ya? Surprised your gonna pay up for the other brat that's not even yours. I over heard the two talking. One's not too confident about a ransom being paid on him."

"If you are referring to Wallace I can assure you I will pay for his freedom. I may be hard on the boy but I don't want to see him with the likes of you." Batman shot back.

Bud didn't respond but instead hung up the phone.

Batman turned to his soon to be son and told him. "Looks like we're headed back to Gotham."

Conner nodded and looked out at the open field. He saw an old man coming towards them.

"Uh, we have company."

Batman let out a sigh and got out. "Stay put."

"Hey, did you have plane trouble?" Johnathan asked.

"No, a call came in and I didn't want to fly and talk at the same time. I'm leaving sorry to have disturbed you." Batman told him easily. Granted Johnathan knew his identity he didn't want the man to know the real reason for his emergency landing.

"Quite alright Batman, I just came out here to see if there was anything I could do to help."

"Nope got it but thank you for the offer."

Batman ran back to the plane and flew off before anything else was said. _Jeez, I'm gonna hear about this from Clark I just know it._

* * *

 _Present time._

They had been walking for quite a while, in the distance, a howl could be heard. Wally listened hard to the sounds. "Crap, how are you holding up Dick?"

Shrugging with his left shoulder he replied back. "Bout as well as can be expected at this point, the cold air seems to have helped the swelling."

"That's good, hey listen, I heard some howling up ahead. We need to stay on our guard till the sun comes up, then I can use superspeed to get us outta here OK."

"OK, that's cool. Hope Frank and Bud don't wake up anytime soon I can still see the cabin." Dick told him after turning around to look back.

Wally looked back towards the dark cabin. The moon was out now and clearly full, so it gave them some light to go by.

"Yeah, let's hope we don't run into any werewolves out here," Wally told him.

"That's only in movies and stories dude." Dick looked back one more time before looking ahead of them and walking on trying to step over fallen branches that were laying across the path.

* * *

Frank rolled over on his side and tried to fall back to sleep after getting up to go to the bathroom. _Man, I shouldn't have had that last beer… Wonder if Bud checked on the boys before going to bed?_

The thought of the boys nagged on the edge of his mind, making it impossible to fall back to sleep. Getting up he stepped out of his room and into the adjacent room, opening the door he saw it was pitch black groping the wall for the light switch he flipped the bright over head light on.

"Ah damn it!" Frank left the door open and light on as he went across the hall to Bud's room and threw the door open.

"Damn it, Bud! Wake the hell up!" Frank shouted as he quickly flipped the light on over head blinding his friend.

Bud shot up in bed and was blinded by the light.

"What the hell is wrong with you Frank?" Bud asked irritated.

"Your 20 million dollars escaped that's what! Why didn't you check on them before going to bed?"

Bud threw the blankets off of himself and put his shoes back on. "Don just stand there, let's get going! They couldn't have got too far!"

The two men grabbed their coats and raced from the cabin with flashlights in hand. Aiming at the ground they saw the boy's footprints in the snow heading east around the back of the cabin.

"This way come on," Bud told him as he lead the way down the slight hill. He was surprised that it wasn't slippery.

They followed the tracks until they could hear the boy's voices in the distance…

* * *

Unknowingly the boys continued walking commenting every now and then about how cool it was or the sound of the wolves in the distance. They fell into a silence after a while, they could hear rustling behind them and played it off as the wind as it had picked up again but not as bad or as fierce as before.

"You think those guys will notice in the morning that we're gone?"

"Oh yeah, and my bet is they are going to be feeling the aster of their plan of keeping us captive," Dick replied back as he steadied himself while stepping over a log in the road.

"Man, this storm did some damage didn't it?" Dick asked his friend.

Wally stopped in his tracks for a second and idly answered his friend. "Yeah… Dick do you hear that?"

They both listened for a couple of minutes, they could hear the sound of heavy breathing coming their way. Wally had been navigating by moonlight for part of their trip but he pulled out his flashlight and pointed it behind them. He could see two human shadows in the distance coming right for them.

"Crap! Dick run!"

Not giving the younger boy much time to reply Wally took hold of him and started to run, he wasn't sure how well the two men could see him so he wasn't able to use his super speed yet. He kept an eye on Dick as they ran and jumped over the thickness of the branches that were all over the ground for having only one arm working he was balancing pretty well. But this shouldn't surprise Wally in the least the younger boy was after all trained by Batman to handle any and all obstacles so running and maneuvering with a broken arm was probably a piece of cake for the boy wonder.

He focused on the route they were going and tried to keep them going east, to his surprise he saw eyes off to the side as they passed a clump of trees, the sky was growing dark again and the air colder.

He wanted to tip Dick off but he knew speaking right now would only distract the younger boy. They got to a large tree with low branches, Wally jumped up on to one of the branches and helped Dick up. In a hoarse whisper, Wally told him. "We may lose them if we stay up here."

"Yeah, but what about those eyes we saw back there? If there are wolves in this forest then they will hunt us down." Dick told his friend quietly.

Before either boy could say another word they saw Bud and Frank pass below them. Waiting a few minutes Wally motioned for Dick to follow his lead and jump down. When they got to the ground Wally looked at the compass with his flashlight and saw that they were headed north instead of east. With out using words he motioned for Dick to follow him anyway even if they were going in the wrong direction. At least they weren't headed West anymore.

They found a small clearing after walking a ways, the moon was hidden behind some thick clouds by this point so it wasn't lit up like before. Wally had his flashlight on and pointed at the space in front of them.

"It's a safe bet that I can use super speed now."

Wally took Dick in his arms by cradling him and got ready to dart off into the night when they heard a sound to their right.

"Ignore it just run!"

Wally hoped he could take off with out them getting attacked first, but he built up his momentum and took off at full speed and kept running. Everything whizzed by so fast for Dick as everything turned into a blur of black.

Wally stopped and put Dick down, he was bent over and out of breath. Dick got in the bag on Wally's back and got out some snacks and handed it to him. With out saying a word Wally ate quickly. Once he caught his breath again he looked at the compass that he stuffed in his pocket before starting his run.

"Well we are north, but I haven't the foggiest idea of how far north we are or if we're even close to a town."

Looking around they still saw a lot of trees, there wasn't as much snow and the air wasn't as cold.

"I wish we had a watch or something to tell us what time it is," Wally told his friend.

"Let's just start walking and see where we end up. At least we won't freeze to death here like we would have earlier."

"True," Wally said as he began to lead the way, he went east again so they could get back on track once more.

They entered the woods ahead and stayed on alert seeing as they had no clue where they were they couldn't risk being attacked by wildlife.

They were quite a ways into the woods when Dick stopped short.

"Why'd you stop?"

"Shh… I hear something." Dick told him holding a finger to his mouth and looking around into the darkness with his flashlight.

The kitten protested a little in the backpack letting Dick know he was still alright and alive back there. "Shh, little guy gotta stay quite a little longer."

"Why did you bring him along anyway? It's not like Bruce will let you keep him."

"He won't say no, besides I couldn't let him grow up in that life. If it doesn't work out then I'll find him a forever home or he can be an out door cat." Dick told his friend as they listened once again to the low sounds coming from the bushes.

Dick listened hard and tried to see in the dark, Dick shined his flashlight at the bushes and saw eyes staring back at him. He tensed up immediately and told Wally. "We're being watched, over there in that bush."

Wally looked over and sure enough, he saw eyes watching them. "There are no monsters out here are there?"

Dick rolled his eyes and told his friend. "Seriously dude it could be a panther or a wolf."

They moved along slowly but it was obvious that what ever was watching them knew they were there. One second the boys noticed it was far away and the next it had traveled closer. They picked up their pace and then decided running would be their only option.

They could hear heavy breathing from an animal behind them as they ran, they found a shed up ahead and locked them selves inside. Dick looked out the small window and used his flashlight to see, it glared badly on the window but he could make out the image of a large black wolf. Memories flooded from just a matter of years ago.

"Crap, that is one huge wolf!" Dick told his friend.

"Is it still out there?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't seem interested in us any more or at least I don't think so. He reminds me of an old friend I used to have when I was 8 it was about a month after going to live at Wayne Manor."

"Really what's the memory? Is this a story you haven't told me yet?" Wally asked as they listened to the Wolf walking around the small shed.

Dick looked around the shed and saw tools and buckets along with other various objects. He turned a bucket over and sat down.

"You haven't heard this one when I was 8 my imagination got the better of me. I didn't see Bruce much but what had me worried was I'd see him go into his study then not return until early morning. He would return and be covered in injuries anywhere from bruises to cuts and even sprains from time to time. But I saw this huge black wolf outside on the grounds by the maze. Not thinking it over clearly I set out to find out who this wolf was. It was huge and I considered it being a werewolf."

Wally laughed a little and replied. "So you thought Bruce was the wolf?"

"Yes, Bruce was concerned that I was so bored that I was making up tales to entertain myself. But what really got his attention was when I started sneaking out my window. I set off the silent alarm a few times and got reprimanded for it in the morning. To make a long story short, not only did I find out that the wolf was not Bruce but a father of a litter of pups in the center of the maze with his mate in there. I named the wolf Bruce. After I helped save the family Bruce, my Bruce sent the family of wolves to a ZOO where they still remain today. I got to name all the pups, I even named one Batwolf."

Wally laughed at that. "So you named one after Batman, now that's cute. I'm surprised that Bruce allowed that."

"At the time it was only temporary that I was staying at Wayne Manor so Bruce didn't mind, and Alfred assured him that no one would put the connection together based off an 8-year-old's imagination," Dick told him.

Wally shook his head as they listened to the wolf still prowling around outside the shed. "I wonder if there are more wolves out there than just the one?"

Dick stood back up and looked out the window. "Yep, the gangs all here now. I wonder how come this shed is here in the middle of the woods?"

"There must be a house near by," Wally told him.

"I wonder how far north we are?"

"There's no telling, I didn't run for very because I didn't want us to wind up in Canada."

There was a low growl coming from the door, the sound bounced off the walls of the small shed. The kitten began crying and meowing even more to protest his fears. The boys felt nervous now, they weren't sure what to do since this small shed had only one door and two windows. Wally stood and looked out the second window.

"The coast seems to be clear on this side. They are all hovering around the front, we can get out this window and I can super speed us out of here."

"But do you have enough energy too?"

"Barely," Wally told him as he began to open the window.

Wally carefully lowered himself onto the ground and looked around, seeing the coast was clear he helped Dick out. Just as Dick's feet touched the ground there was a low threatening growl. Dick looked over and nearly came face to face with a pair of silver eyes.

Wally saw this and started running, making numerous turns and back tracking several times. The wolves kept teaming up and leaping around the speedster making it impossible for him to use his super speed. After running for an unknown length of time Wally saw a house up ahead that had a couple of lights on downstairs. He could feel the hot breath of one of the wolves as he had to slow down at some point to jump across a crick that ran there.

Dick slipped on the wet grass and scrambled to get back to his feet, Wally darted back and helped him up just as a wolf lunged at them. A massive claw tore at Dick's pant leg. With a small yelp he speeds up and Wally picked Dick up and finished the run to the house.

The plus side it was now early morning and the sun was just starting to come up over the horizon as he got to the house, looking back he saw the wolves gaining on them. He quickly put Dick down as he was running out of steam to support them both. Dick started running the second his feet hit the ground. Once at the back door to the house Wally knocked a couple of times. Moments later two grown older men came to the door and ushered the boys inside after seeing what they were running from.

The house was warm and the lights were on, the smell of coffee was heavy in the air. Dick looked around at the room they were in and saw it was a kitchen. He noticed the men as the old men from Missouri.

"How did you two get here so quick?" Dick asked the taller man with white hair.

The old man took a wooden chair and offered the boys a seat. "Well boys, are you aware how long the two of you have been missing?"

"About a day." Wally offered.

"Holy lost sense of time, no kid, you two have been missing for about 3 days maybe longer. That's how long we've known anyway, we were following you." Gervis told them.

The younger of the two men offered the boys a steaming cup of hot chocolate and sat down across from his friend.

"I'm Gervis, this is Adam, the reason we were following you is that we heard that a boy named Richard Grayson went missing from his home at Wayne Manor more than 3 weeks ago. The police didn't get involved as Mr. Wayne had 'other sources' looking for him. But you see, we are retired detectives on vacation, but we couldn't just sit by and do nothing."

"So you followed us." Dick offered.

"Yes, what happened to your arm son?" Adam asked worriedly.

"Got a little banged up, I'll survive. Do you know if Bruce is on his way with the money?"Dick asked quickly.

"Son, are you even aware of what state you two are in?" Gervis asked carefully.

Both boys shook their heads no.

Adam cracked up laughing a little then asked. "OK, where were you two yesterday?"

"In eastern Utah close to the Colorado border," Wally told them.

Adam frowned deeply at that news. "How did you boys get from there to here over night?"

Wally looked panicked but Dick replied easily. "Hitched a ride from a trucker. He had to let us out early."

"Real early, son you are in Cody Wyoming, or at least the forest part of it," Adam told them.

"Yeah, way out in the sticks as it were. Why did he let you out in the middle of the forest?" Gervis asked worriedly.

"Don't know, he just did," Dick answered carefully.

Adam and Gervis shared knowing looks and told them. "Well, I know there's some one who's gonna be mighty happy to get back to his normal crime fighting."

Playing dumb Dick asked. "Really who?"

"Batman." Adam offered. "We met him back in Missouri, he had another young boy with him on this plane and then said he had a kid called Kid Flash that was supposed to report back to him but ended up getting captured as well as the Grayson boy."

"You're Grayson aren't you?" Adam asked.

"Yes sir, and this is my friend Wally."

Gervis could feel the detective inside him want to ask more questions but he could already tell the boys didn't want to answer anymore.

"Were you expecting us?" Wally asked.

"No, this is my family's get away cabin we came up here to regroup and double our efforts to find you when that Batman fella had to go back to Gotham for an emergency. That boy he had with him I think he wanted to stay but he kept pretty quiet." Gervis told them gently.

Adam stood up and walked to his fridge. "You boys hungry?"

They looked at each other before Dick answered. "I'm not, but my friend is he… has diabetes and hasn't eaten anything since yesterday." Dick hoped they'd believe his lie.

Wally's head was beginning to drop from sheer exhaustion. He looked very pale along with he looked visibly weak.

Gervis looked back out the window and saw in the early morning light the pack of wolves was still there. "Holy wolf pack, they are still outside."

Out of nowhere, a loud meow escaped Dick's backpack, he struggled to get it off and unzipped the top. A small orange head popped out and a very displeased kitten scrambled to get out of his prison.

"Well I'll be, that must be what those critters are after," Adam said reaching for a saucer from the cabinet. From the sounds of it, the little guy was very hungry.

Adam poured him some milk and sat it down on the table for the little kitten, then handed to glasses of milk to the boys.

"Wally? Son, you need to stay awake, drink that milk, it'll help your 'sugar' go up a little while I fix breakfast." Adam told him with a hint of not believing the diabetic story he had been told.

The kitchen started filling with the wonderful smells of bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes and hash browns. Once the food was set out on the table Dick put the kitten down on the floor as Gervis put a plate in front of him.

"Thank you," Dick said as he began filling his plate with food.

Without thinking, Wally piled his plate with a little of everything.

Gervis gave his long time friend a knowing look and then commented to Wally. "You eat almost as much as Flash does, or so I've heard."

Both boys choked for a second and took big drinks from their milk.

"It's just a coincidence," Wally told them hoarsely.

Adam folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against his chair looking at both boys from across the table knowingly. "Boys, I worked from the ground up in the police department, I can spot a lie from a mile away. Now, if you're scared about revealing some huge secret then I get it. Just know your secret is very safe with us."

Dick bit his bottom lip and looked over at Wally then back at the two detectives. Taking a deep breath Dick told them softly.

"You're right… we are hiding something… Batman would have my hide for telling anyone this but um… for the last 4 to 5 years… I have been Robin the boy wonder in Gotham City. Wally's Kid Flash He's Flash's nephew."

Nodding their heads in understanding Gervis leaned forward and told them. "You have our word that no one will ever find out who you two really are. But Wally why didn't you use your speed to get you out of there?"

"I was turned around, I took a compass from those guys cabin so I knew which direction to start running in. But we got turned around when those two started chasing us in the woods. I just grabbed Dick and ran. When I stopped in the woods I was looking at my compass and we started to walk east again when the wolves started chasing us."

Adam nodded and told them. "I see. Would it make things easier if I call Bruce Wayne and have him come get you?"

"NO." Both boys answered.

Dick's hand shook a little as he took a bite of his food. "I'm in enough trouble with Bruce if he finds out that I told..."

"Shh… calm down… I told you we wouldn't tell anyone and that includes Mr. Wayne."

Dick tried to control his emotions, everything came to him in waves, his running away, getting kidnapped, the adoption, being jealous of his friend and soon to be a brother, causing so much trouble for Bruce and now he even told his secret identity to a complete stranger.

Adam could see the tears welling up in the teenager's blue eyes. "Son it will be alright. What kind of trouble are you in with Mr. Wayne."

"This is all because I ran away from home… I was jealous and angry. And I wasn't thinking straight at all… Now I probably screwed everything up." Dick told them as he began to cry, mostly he couldn't control his emotions anymore due to extreme exhaustion.

Gervis took a big drink of his coffee then put the mug down. "Tell you boys what, go on upstairs there and the second room on your right is the guest room complete with a fully stocked bathroom. Go get your selves cleaned up and get some sleep."

Neither boy protested as they climbed to their feet tiredly. Dick bent down to get the kitten from below his chair when Adam stopped him. "Why don't you leave the little guy there, he's just as tired as you boys. Go on now get some rest."

The boys walked to the stairs and climbed them to the room they were told to go to. Little did they know there was a surprise waiting for them when they woke up and started on their way again…

* * *

 **A/N:** (Gives an evil look) Cliffhanger! LOL, had to do it. It's been a while since I've done one, but don't worry I won't leave ya hanging for long.


	27. Rescued

Hours had passed since Bud and Frank gave up the search in the woods, both men were furious as they stormed back into the cabin.

"So Bud, ya think they went back to Gotham?"

Bud looked over at his old friend murderously and told him. "My bets they did. So we are going to go back to Gotham."

"What about the show that's supposed to take place tonight?"

"Pfft, like I give two shits about that damn circus. They'll be fine with out us, I'll phone Greg and tell him he can handle things and that we had… trouble on the road." Bud told him as he started packing up the few things they had with them.

"We don't even know which direction those boys went in, how will we ever find them?" Frank asked as they finished up and started for the door.

Bud fished for his cell phone out of his pocket, flipping it open he scrolled down until he found Greg's number. Only a select number of people were allowed to have phones.

"They went north from the sound of their footsteps, kinda funny how we didn't see them after that. But any how they will be headed back east to Gotham City. So, That's where we are going." Bud answered him as he made the phone calls.

* * *

It took Dick and Wally a better part of an hour and a half to get cleaned up and they laid down in the offered bed that was there. They had to share a queen but at this point, neither boy really cared.

"Dick, do you think we are being foolish by not contacting Bruce or Barry?"

Dick rolled over and saw Wally was facing the other wall with his back to him. "I don't know, I mean after all the trouble I've caused Bruce in the last several months… who's to say he won't decided I'm not worth keeping around and just ditches me for Conner."

Without warning, Wally rolled over quickly and smacks his best friend over the head with his pillow. "Richard John Grayson-Wayne! Don't you ever think that way again! Bruce would probably give up all his fortune for you if it meant keeping you with him. And it won't be because you know his secret either, it's because he loves you like you were his own flesh and blood."

They were silent for several moments. "Dick, listen, I know you've been having a hard time. But you've got to understand that Bruce will love you the same as he does Conner. Heck, you'll always be his oldest son, regardless if Conner's a little older. Your technically his first, he's made a lot of trial and error mistakes with you. But that's how it is with having your first kid, you make mistakes but you correct it by the time kid number two comes along."

"So you're saying that families that have over 5 kids make a lot of mistakes?" Dick asked with humor in his voice.

"No, that's not what I meant. Oh just go to sleep smart ass!" Wally told him as he rolled back over.

Chuckling Dick turned to face the window and watched as birds flew past the open curtains, his mind kept drifting to Bruce and where he was at that moment…

* * *

Bruce paced the front hall of Wayne Manor waiting on his second ward to come downstairs. "Conner! Stop talking to Megan and come on!"

He finally yelled up the stairs. It sounded like thunder as Conner came running as fast as he allowed himself to.

"I wasn't talking to Megan..." Conner started to say.

Bruce gave him a knowing look and told him. "Oh really? So the short trip to change clothes didn't result in you having a conversation by texting for the last 30 minutes? I was your age once, and I had a girl I was interested in."

Conner gave him a knowing smirk as the two walked out the front door and to the waiting car with Alfred behind the wheel.

"I trust Master Conner finished his conversation with Miss Megan?" Alfred gave them both a knowing look.

Conner chose not to answer that as he looked out the window, Bruce and Alfred gave each other a knowing look as Alfred pulled out of the driveway and headed for the airport. Bruce had received a phone call from Adam telling him that he had found Dick and for the most part, he was alright just mostly tired but he did have an injury that needed to be looked at pretty quickly.

Bruce pulled out his phone from his pocket and called Barry.

"Hey Barry it's Bruce, the boys have been found. Meet us at the airport and you can go with us to get Wally."

Barry stared at the phone in his hand for a second before replying. "Wouldn't it be faster if I just run?"

"And let the word get out that your Flash? How is that going to work if you show up in civilian clothes? Wallace may have changed in the dark and but I still wonder if the kidnappers have put 2 and 2 together yet on his identity, before his radio went out I heard him tell them that he was Kid Flash. That boy isn't too bright at times. Let's hope these men are as dumb as they seem to be."

Barry grumbled on his end of the phone and told Bruce. "Yeah Yeah, you've got a point. Damn it, Bruce."

Bruce chuckled and hung up the phone. The drive was silent as they got to the airport and meet up with Barry who apparently had run to the airport.

Bruce gave him a disapproving look but didn't make any comments about it as they boarded the private jet. Luckily there was no press around for once. It was time to bring his boy home.

* * *

Gervis stood by while Adam had made the phone call. "Do you think that was such a good idea? The boys trusted us not to call him."

Adam gave his old friend a knowing look and told him gently. "If Dick was your son, what would you have wanted some one to do? Just let the boy continue on by himself with a broken arm? I don't care if the other boy is a super hero or not and has the ability to get them home in the blink of an eye. The father in me tells me it is the right thing to do. Those kidnappers could still be out there looking for the boys. They need to get as far away from here as possible and as fast as possible."

"I know Adam, but he seems insecure about all of this..."

Adam put a hand on his friend's shoulder and then told him softly. "We did the right thing, we don't know his full story and probably never will, but something tells me the boy ran away for a reason. I don't think Bruce Wayne is a bad man, he seemed relieved but also upset. I think his emotions are running wild."

"Yeah, but I think his father wanted to rescue him."

"Maybe so, but we will find out in due time," Adam told him as he went to see if the pack of wolves had left.

Gervis started cleaning up the breakfast mess and set out a saucer of milk for the kitten when he woke up from his nap.

* * *

Dick woke up and looked over at the clock by the bedside, 12:30. _Guess I better get up, this is so crazy. I should have called Bruce when I had the chance. Or at least have gotten my self out of this._ _And Conner, what does he think about my running away? He probably thinks this is all his fault, which it's not._

Looking over he saw Wally was out of bed already, getting up Dick put his shoes back on and headed downstairs.

He couldn't hear any signs of life in the house, he walked down the last few steps and looked around. There didn't seem to be anyone around, then he heard it once he entered the living room a voice he hadn't heard in weeks. _Crap, who called him!_

Not wanting to face Bruce yet, Dick walked to the back door as quickly as possible noticing the wolves weren't around anymore he raced into the woods again. His arm ached since he didn't have his sling on it, his entire body hurt from the long cold walks they took in the woods along with the beatings that he received from Bud. He had to clear his head before facing Bruce, Alfred, and Conner.

The path he had chosen lead to a dirt road, following the path he saw a familiar looking truck. _What the? How did they get way out here? And do they know where Wally and I are?_

He knew he hadn't traveled that far from the house. _These guys must just be pulling off to the side of the road, but at noon? Unless they were driving all night long._

Deciding not to lead the men back to the house Dick turned and left as quickly as he could. Unfortunately, he heard, "Hey! It's that kid! Grayson!"

Holding his broken arm against his chest tightly he ran as fast as his legs would carry him up the path, jumping hurdles that were fallen branches he knew he was off track from the path he had originally taken. But he knew he had to get away from those men.

* * *

 _A short time before Dick's departure…_

Bruce had arrived at the house by a rental car from the airport by around 11:30, he was greeted by the two old men. Conner was standing behind him as the two entered the house.

"Welcome Mr. Wayne, it is so nice to finally meet you," Gervis told him as he shook his hand.

Bruce, Barry, and Conner walked into the house and Adam told them. "How about we go talk in my den, the boys are upstairs sleeping."

"Is Dick alright?" Conner asked stepping beside the adults.

Gervis gave him a kind smile and told him. "He will be, his arm is broken, don't know how badly but it seemed to bother him."

"He had it in a makeshift sling when he got here." Adam chimed in.

"Good, we'll get him to the hospital as soon as we get back to Gotham," Bruce told the men.

"I'm sorry I can't stay, I need to collect my nephew," Barry told the men sheepishly.

Adam pointed to the stairs. "It's alright, they should be in the room with the door open. I went in to check on them not long ago and left it that way."

Barry hated to be so brief but he really did have to get going. He climbed the stairs and found the room the boys were in, seeing Wally was staring blankly at the wall he announced himself softly as not to wake Dick just yet.

"Wally? Hey, buddy you ready to go home?"

Jumping a little Wally was pulled from his thoughts to the doorway where his uncle was. "Uncle Barry? What are you doing here? Who called you? How did you..."

Barry put his hand up to silence the teen and told him. "Shh, don't wake Dick up, Adam called Bruce who had gotten in touch with me and told me where you were. I have an important meeting I have to be at, at 2 so I can't stay… I want to but can't."

Nodding then sitting up being mindful of his sleeping friend Wally replied. "What about him? Will he be OK?"

"Bruce is here, he'll make sure he's alright."

"Is he mad? That has been something he's been worried about."

Barry put a comforting hand on his nephew's shoulder and told him. "Yes, but not at Dick, himself mostly. He wished he could have been the one to save the day and rescue Dick when he was in Missouri. He's very worried as well, that man has a mixture of emotions going on."

"What about Conner?"

"He's here too, the boy is full of guilt and thinks that this is somehow his fault. He's a spitting image of Clark that's for sure. But he is more worried about Dick than anything."

The two left the room and went downstairs where Conner was sitting on the couch listening to the men in the den talking. The boy looked up when the two came downstairs. "Hey Wally, are you guys OK?"

Wally grinned at the boy and told him. "We will be once we are home."

"Dick OK?"

"In time yeah he will be fine. Quit blaming yourself for this happening OK, you didn't cause Dick to run away."

"Alright, that's what Bruce keeps telling me," Conner told them.

Barry gave him a brief smile and then told him. "Conner, everything will work out in the end. it's going to be OK I promise."

"Thanks, Mr. West," Conner told him.

Barry looked down at his nephew and asked. "So Kid are you ready?"

"Yes," Wally told him as he got ready to run behind his uncle.

In the blink of an eye, the two were gone. Conner sat looking at the spot the two heroes had been standing in. _I hope that he's right. I hope Bruce doesn't secretly blame me for Dick running away._

Conner got up and walked to the doorway of the den and listened to the men talk. He could see Bruce was getting restless as the two older men kept him busy. Several minutes went by until Conner could hear someone, most likely Dick, walking or trying to walk very quietly down the stairs then out the door. Conner didn't say a word as he went to the back door and saw Dick start to take off into the woods. He hurried back to the den and told them quickly.

"Sorry but Dick just left. I'm going after him." Conner told them as he turned and left as fast as he could allow himself to.

Bruce stood up so quickly that the wooden chair he had been sitting in tipped back and fell with a loud bang to the hard wood floor. "Not again."

He took off out of the room in pursuit of his sons. Adam and Gervis followed but couldn't keep up with the younger man. Gervis being the faster of the two went and got their Golf Cart that they used to go driving around the narrow path in the woods and pulled it around front. Adam climbed in and they took off as well.

Bruce couldn't hear footsteps running anymore, he stopped and looked around. "Dick! Can you hear me!"

* * *

In the distance Dick could hear Bruce's voice, knowing he was off the trail he followed his father's voice.

"Get back here kid!" Frank shouted.

Dick looked back for a second and saw the two men storming towards him not wasting another second he took off in Bruce's direction. As Dick ran he could hear another round of running footsteps coming his way, he turned a little to avoid crashing into the person when he tripped over a branch and felt his arm snap for the second time. Crying out in pain this time as he clenched his arm to his chest, the smaller boy was covered in dirt and leaves as he laid there on the cold, hard ground.

"Dick!" Conner hadn't seen Dick coming until it was too late and he avoided the smaller boy when he made the turn. He used his x-ray vision like Clark had shown him to look at Dick's arm once he got close enough. Before he could do or say anything to him the two men came from the other side panting madly.

"Damn that kid is fast..." Bud panted as he ignored the fact a second boy was with in just a few feet of Dick.

Bud reached down and took hold of Dick's shirt before Conner could react. "You little shit! you're coming with us!"

Bud started to turn when a small tree branch was swung at his head knocking him off his feet. Dick struggled to get free as the heavy man went down. Frank stepped in and grabbed the young teen and pulled a hidden pistol from his boot aiming it at Dick's temple.

"That's enough kid!"

Time seemed to freeze as Conner turned around and saw the scene behind him. Frank sneered at him and said. "Listen, boy, we're getting outta here nice and fast like you nor anyone else is gonna stop us."

If looks could kill Frank would be dead by now just from the look on Conner's face. Dick and Conner's eyes met for a moment when Dick squinted his eyes to Conner then looked over at the pistol. Conner had been practicing his heat vision control which had developed just before Dick ran away.

Conner got the message louder than any word could have and narrowed his eyes and concentrated. He stared at the pistol with every fiber of his being.

Frank didn't know what happened but his pistol got warmer than it should have and he dropped it shaking his hand. "Damn! What happened? That Damn thing got hot!"

Dick reared his leg back and kicked Frank in the shin causing the man to let him go, he started to run for Conner when Bud reached out and took hold of his leg causing him to go down again on his bad arm.

"Let him go!" Conner shouted as he raced forward and kicked Bud's arm with enough force that he broke the bones in his forearm.

Bud let out a pain filled cry and held his arm painfully to his chest. "Damn this other kid is strong!"

Frank recovered and got to his feet and raced for Dick before Conner could react, Frank went down when someone tackled him from behind.

"Bruce?"

"Bruce!"

Both boys shouted at the same time. Bruce got to his feet bringing Frank up with him by the back of his shirt. "What in the hell did you do to my boy?"

Bruce reared his fist back and punched the man in the side, then about the face and chest. Bud saw what was happening and slowly got to his feet to help his friend.

Frank went down hard when Bruce punched him again, not giving the man time to recover Bruce kicked him in the side causing him to roll to his back looking up at the bigger and much more powerful man.

Bud had gotten to his feet and was racing to him still holding his broken arm to his chest. Bruce backhanded the man and knocked him down. Looking over Bruce told Conner. "Take Dick back to the house on the double!"

Bud picked up the fallen pistol, Conner used his weaker version of heat vision again and made Bud drop it. Nodding once he picked Dick up and ran quickly back in the direction of the house.

Bruce turned his attention back to the kidnappers, Frank got back up and attacked Bruce again. But Bruce was too quick and kicked his legs out from under him, and swung his arm back as his elbow connected with Bud's face.

Bud rubbed his jaw and commented. "Wow, for a Billionaire playboy he knows how to fight."

Bruce walked over to Bud's fallen form and lifted the man up by his shirt collar. "You messed with my kid! So you had better be willing to take on the father when you mess with him."

"You ain't his blood!" Frank spewed out getting to his feet again. Bruce saw red as he pushed Bud to the ground and did a quick round house kick connecting his foot to Frank's head knocking him out completely.

Turning his attention back to Bud he glared at the man, breathing heavily Bruce walked over to the man and lifted him up again by his shirt collar.

"Any more wise cracks you want to make?"

Bud could clearly see in Bruce's blue eyes raw anger there, he actually was beginning to fear for his life.

"N-no… Just let me go… I won't follow the kid again I swear!" Bud stammered out.

Bruce felt his face grow even redder with anger as he replied back. "Like hell, I believe you."

The sound of a motor came to Bruce's ears as he glanced over and saw Gervis and Adam coming in the Golf Cart.

"Hey Bruce, I see you found the kidnappers," Gervis told him as he parked the cart beside a knocked out Frank.

Adam pulled out from under the seat a rope and helped Gervis to get Frank tied to the back of the Golf Cart. Bud used the distraction to try and kick Bruce's legs out from under him… But the man stood firm and Bruce gripped Bud tighter.

"If I ever see you anywhere near Gotham so help me God if I don't do something drastic. Stay away from my boy. Am I clear?" Bruce said through clenched teeth.

Bud chuckled at the man holding him firmly in place and stated. "Or you'll what? Send a giant bat to come kick the crap out of me? I ain't scared of him."

Adam and Gervis saw the dark look in Bruce's eyes and they knew that he meant business. They kept quiet as they watched Bruce not say a word and haul Bud towards the cart and tie him up tight.

"Dang Brucie, you could have left me a little room for my blood to flow," Bud commented to the angry father as they began their drive back to Adam's house.

Bruce kept his mouth shut during the drive back. Once there he noticed the boys were out front on the porch swing. Dick was half asleep leaning up against Conner, getting off the cart before it stopped fully he turned back to Adam.

"Go ahead and call the police to pick these pieces of human trash out of here."

Conner looked worriedly at Dick and then nudged him awake as he told him. "Dick, hey, Bruce is here."

Dick moaned and was white as a sheet, Bruce frowned and knelt down in front of the boys. Putting his hand on Dick's forehead and noticed he was cold and his cheeks were flush. Bruce pulled out a pen light in his jacket pocket and lifted Dick's eye lids.

Frowning hard he pulled Conner's jacket away from Dick's body and noticed the swelling in Dick's right arm. The boy was shaking a little, he looked back and saw Gervis with the two captives. "Go tell Adam to call for an ambulance. Dick's going into shock."

Bruce put his arms around his son and picked him up gently, he took note that Dick had lost a little weight in the past several weeks.

"He was fine just a few minutes ago..." Conner told him worriedly.

Bruce glanced down at the Kryptonian and told him. "It's not your fault Conner, let's get him inside until help arrives."

When Bruce walked through the back door he was greeted by Adam who had several blankets on the kitchen table. "Here lay him on the couch and get him covered up."

Conner knew that Clark had the ability to check on someone's vital signs but he hadn't learned how to do it just yet. He watched and waited as the adults worked on Dick to get his body temperature up. His phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his pocket.

 **Wally:** _Hey man, I'm using my uncle's phone, is Dick alright? Did you guys find him?_

 **Conner:** _Yeah, we found him, Bruce beat the crap out of those kidnappers. They're tied up outside, Dick is going into shock right now. He got tossed around by the guys again and re-broke his arm. Bruce is working on getting him warmed up while we wait for the ambulance to take him to the hospital._

Minutes passed before the phone buzzed again.

 **Wally:** _Keep me posted. If you text back on this number it will be Barry that answers._

 **Conner:** _OK, I can do that. Uh Oh, the ambulance is_ _getting close_ _. I'll text you again as soon as we know something._

Alfred had been waiting in the rental car when he saw Bruce motioning for him to come inside. He had originally been told to stay out in the car and wait for Bruce to come back with Dick and Conner but he wondered what had happened since more than a half hour had gone by. Getting out he rushed up to the front of the house and went inside where he saw Dick laying on the couch covered in blankets.

"My word, what has happened?" Alfred asked rushing to the boy's side.

"He's gone into shock after suffering 2 brakes to the same arm, that combined with the fact that he's underweight doesn't help. Malnutrition is a factor too, the ambulance is on its way.

Conner cocked his head to the side and told Bruce. "The ambulance is almost here."

Gervis and Adam looked at each other for a second then Gervis commented. "Holy super hearing! You have good ears!"

Adam ignored his friend's comment and asked. "Is there anything you want us to do?"

Bruce glanced over as he swaddled Dick up the best he could into a warm blanket and replied. "No, you've done enough, more than anyone else I can imagine. Thank you so much."

"We'll keep an eye on the kitten until he's strong enough to travel back to Gotham, I don't think the hospital will allow cats," Gervis said as the kitten began to meow a little.

Bruce frowned and glanced over at Alfred then back to Gervis. "A cat? Where did he get a cat?"

"That will be a story for another day, sir, we must post haste to the awaiting ambulance that is fast approaching," Alfred remarked as he rushed to the door to let the paramedics in.

For the next few minutes, there was a lot of activity as the medics got Dick started on an IV drip and checked his vitals. Strapping him down on the gurney they rushed out of the house with Bruce running along side with them. Turning he told Alfred. "We'll meet you at the hospital!"

Nodding Alfred rushed to the rental car with Conner in toe. They drove behind the ambulance and followed them to the hospital. Alfred and Conner waited in the waiting room as Bruce went back with Dick into the ER.

Bruce listened to the doctors for the longest time talking in their jargon and barking orders. When he learned Dick would need surgery he stepped in.

"No, I would rather Dick's primary doctor to perform any surgeries he may need, I have no doubt that you're all fine surgeons here but I would feel much better if he was seen by his own doctor," Bruce told them firmly.

Dr. Thomas turned from checking Dick's vitals again to Bruce. "Who's his doctor and we'll call him?"

"It's a she, and her name is Dr. Thompkins from Gotham City," Bruce replied back.

The team looked at Bruce then back to the boy. "But he needs the surgery now, he can't wait."

Bruce looked down at his son then said. "Is he in danger of bleeding out? Or anything major happening in the next few hours? I know he's in shock but it looks like his vitals are stabilizing for the most part."

"Mr. Wayne I know you care deeply for your son..."

"Answer my question," Bruce demanded in a heated tone.

Letting out a frustrated breath the doctor replied. "No, he is not in danger of bleeding out. See to it you can get her here as quickly as possible though. As long as your son's arm remains broken the way it is, the longer his recovery time."

Bruce knew the boy was coming out of shock, his temperature was coming back up which was a good sign. He excused himself to the hallway where he called Dr. Thompkins and she promised to be there as soon as possible.

Dick was moved to a room in the hospital in the anticipating wait that Leslie would get there soon. Bruce sat beside the boy's bed holding his hand as he slept, pain meds kept him asleep for the time being. Adam and Gervis remained in the waiting room hoping to hear about their new found friend's condition. Alfred and Conner were in Dick's room with Bruce.

Around three hours had passed when there was a knock on the door. Bruce turned from his position on the bed to see Leslie at the door.

"Hey, how's our little trooper?" She asked as she came closer to the bed to check his vitals.

Bruce turned back to his son and replied. "Hanging in there. He's been asleep thankfully."

"I spoke with the surgeons and they agree that we need to move quickly to reset his arm. From the looks of the X-Ray, his Radius is broken in two places and his Humerus is broken in one place."

Bruce looked at Dick's wrapped arm and asked. "How bad's the double break? Will he lose the use of that arm?"

"For the time being yes, but we need to do surgery now to avoid any complications in the future. With as active as he is this could get him benched for a while."

Bruce nodded in agreement and told her. "Go ahead and do what you need to."

* * *

Hours later found Conner pacing Dick's room with Bruce standing at the window staring out at the cloudy evening sky and Alfred trying to tidy up the room a little.

"Bruce. Can I ask you something?" Conner asked as he stopped pacing and stood next to the taller man.

Turning Bruce replied. "What is it?"

"Is this my fault?"

"Is what your fault? Dick running away and getting hurt? If that's what you mean then no."

Conner stared hard at Bruce with clear hurt in his eyes. "But if I never came along then we wouldn't be here right now."

"Master Conner, please do not blame yourself for any of this. If my memory serves me, Master Dick and his friends were the ones who rescued you. In turn, you actually rescued Master Dick when he ran away for the second time. You returned the favor, you acted as a true brother should." Alfred told him from the other side of the empty bed.

Before they could say any more the door to the room opened and Dick was being wheeled back in on a gurney. The nurses used the sheet to transfer him over gently to his bed as Leslie spoke.

"He's a trooper Bruce, the break to his humerus wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. It's a clean break that should heal nicely. The radius was the worst of the break, it looks like he moved it or used the broken arm too much since breaking it. The recovery time for it will be longer than normal, I'm afraid that any extracurricular activities that he likes to do after school will have to be put off until further notice. Once we get back to Gotham I want to see him in my clinic in 3 weeks to check the breaks and the healing progress."

Bruce understood what she was getting at and asked. "How long is he benched from activities? So that I know what to tell the school."

"At least for the remainder of the school year," Leslie replied.

"Five months… He's not going to be happy about that. But when he wakes up I'll tell him." Bruce told her calmly.

Once Dick was tucked safely into his hospital bed Bruce asked. "When will he be OK to travel back to Gotham?"

"His body temperature and vitals are all good, I'd say when he wakes up and is more alert we can see about discharging him and getting him back to Gotham City."

"Thanks for coming out here Leslie, I didn't want a strange doctor taking care of him," Bruce told her honestly.

"I know Bruce, I fully understand. I'm just sorry this happened to him. But how did he get way out here? Was there a school trip or something?"

"He ran away, once he's alert I intend to fully find out what set him off, to begin with," Bruce told her.

"Why didn't you tell the police?"

"And risk CPS finding out? No, I figured I could handle it. But it wasn't me who rescued him. That's the frustrating part. I was hoping that I could find him in time, but I kept hitting brick walls in my attempts. No, it was these two local retired detectives that located him and followed him. They called me once they had him in their possession." Bruce told her honestly.

Leslie gave him an understanding look and told him softly. "When he wakes up you really need to talk to him. Or at the very least do so when you get home. Needs to be one on one with no interruptions, he's going to be insecure about a lot of things and angry about being benched from activities."

"I will I promise."

"OK then, let me know when he wakes up," Leslie told them as she turned to leave with the nurses.

* * *

It was several hours later before a low moan could be heard from the bed, Bruce sat up from where he was sitting and ran a hand through Dick's black hair and told him softly. "Dick, hey, how ya feeling?"

Dick tried to focus on Bruce and replied sleepily. "Feel like I was run over by a truck..."

"Are you in any pain Master Dick?" Alfred asked from the other side of the bed.

Dick looked up into Alfred's worried eyes and replied. "Not a lot, mostly just tired. Did Adam and Gervis call you guys? We were headed home you didn't have to come after us."

"On foot Dick? How long do you think it would have taken you?" Bruce asked honestly.

Shrugging Dick told him softly. "I just thought I could get myself out of this one."

Alfred motioned for Conner to follow him. "Master Conner and I shall be in the dining hall if you need us. Master Bruce, I think what we discussed earlier needs to take place sooner rather than later."

With out hesitation Conner and Alfred left the two alone to have their much-needed talk. Bruce heard Alfred say something to someone outside the door, most likely a hospital staff member.

Dick was more alert from what Bruce could tell, he didn't even know where to begin so he just said the first thing that came to mind. "I am so sorry Dickie."

Frowning hard Dick sat up a little better. "What for? I'm the one who should be sorry for screwing things up."

Bruce moved in his seat a little and took Dick's good hand. "I let you down Dickie, not as just me but Batman too."

"How? I'm the one who ran away."

"Yes, but I should have been able to find you quicker, and with out the help of strangers. I couldn't because I kept hitting every fork in the road there was."

Dick chuckled a little and told him softly. "It's alright big guy, just remember Batman is only human. I'm not mad at you for that."

"I just want to know why Dick. Why did you run away?" Bruce asked honestly.

Dick looked off to the side for a moment then replied softly. "Cause I heard part of what you said to Conner. About how he had more potential than me..."

Bruce let out a frustrated breath and then said. "In certain areas Dick, but not in everything. There are things he can do that you can't. That's what I meant, why didn't you just come and find out? This just isn't like you at all."

"I know… It's just that, well… every time I want to spend time with you, your with Conner."

Bruce gave a small snort and replied. "That's part of having a sibling Dick, sharing. You have to learn to share my attention, but you also need to be grown up enough to come tell me when you're hurting or upset. You want me to treat you like a grown up but yet the slightest change makes you angry. Life's about change, and nothing ever stays the same. Conner is going to be part of our lives from now on Dickie if it happens that I want to adopt more kids what are you going to do then? Shut me out completely? Unless you say so, no one could ever be another Robin or Dick Grayson."

Bruce listened hard at the door but kept that statement very quiet between them.

Dick started to feel tired again and looked over at the cast on his right arm. "How long am I in this thing?"

Bruce felt uneasy about answering that question at the present time so he told him. "For a while, that too we can discuss at home. We have a lot more to talk about than that though."

Dick looked out the window then asked. "What about the other kids?"

Bruce frowned deeply and replied. "What kids?"

Dick looked down at his cast and answered. "There's 3 boys and 2 girls that were kidnapped too. They've been missing from their families for years."

"Where was the circus headed when Bud contacted me?"

"Salt Lake City, Utah. We were supposed to do a show either tonight or tomorrow." Dick replied looking into Bruce's worried blue eyes.

Bruce glanced over at the window at the cloudy evening sky. _This adventure just keeps getting better._

Looking over at his son again he told him. "Get some rest, we'll see about discharging you tomorrow morning then we will locate those kids and get them home."

Dick's arm was starting to hurt again and he asked. "How long did you say I was going to be out?"

"A while, now get some sleep."

Groaning Dick slid back down in the bed and obeyed by closing his eyes.

Bruce felt his fists clench when he saw the bruises on Dick's arms when the gown sleeve rolled up. He had been told of his injuries but hadn't seen them for himself yet. Dick had the remains of a black eye which already had Bruce's blood boiling but seeing there were other remains of abuse lead him to want to go to Bud's guarded hospital room and beat the tar out of him again.

Leslie came in about an hour later and saw Bruce holding Dick's good hand while resting his head on his free hand sleeping. Conner remained vigilant standing over the smaller boy with Alfred beside him, she could tell that the boys had bonded. She held discharge papers in her hand as she approached Alfred.

"Alfred, I'm transferring Dick to Gotham General so he is closer to home and under my care. I just went over his blood work and his electrolytes are down quite a bit and his weight is low. It will only be for a couple of days."

Nodding politely Alfred responded. "As you wish, Ms. Thompkins. I shall have Master Bruce sign when he wakes."

"That's fine, Dick is healthy enough to make the flight by Bruce's private Jet we don't need to use a helicopter to transfer him."

"OK," Alfred replied.

Leslie turned her attention to Bruce who had not woken up yet. "He must have been tired, he's usually a light sleeper."

"Master Bruce has gotten little to no sleep since Master Dick's disappearance."

"I see," Leslie replied as she walked over to the unmasked hero. Taking his shoulder she gently shook it and said softly. "Bruce, hey wake up."

Bruce startled awake and looked up at Leslie. "Is Dick alright?"

"Yes, he's fine, in fact, I have come to tell you I'm having him transferring him to Gotham General. He's still going to need to spend a couple of days in the hospital to be monitored. Along with being on an IV drip for a couple of days."

Standing up Bruce looked around at everyone in the room then settled his eyes on the doctor. "No, you know perfectly well that Alfred and I can care for him. If he is not in any danger of going into shock again then I don't see the reason he has to stay here. You know he hates hospitals and you know I don't want the public to know that he was kidnapped."

Leslie knew there was no arguing with this man so she simply told him. "Fine, but please if anything else goes wrong let me know."

"You know I will. Does he require therapy when his arm comes out of the cast?" Bruce asked softly.

"Most likely yes he will. Be aware that he may have some anxiety after all of this, there were several lacerations and bruises along that arm along with all over his body."

"Conner told me that after he checked Dick over when they were waiting at the house. Some were old and some very recent."

Leslie looked over at the clock in the room. "Here are the discharge papers, you all can leave first thing in the morning if you'd like."

"Ok," Bruce told her after signing the papers and watched as she left the room leaving the door cracked slightly.

Getting up he shut the door all the way after making sure there were no eavesdroppers outside. Turning to Alfred and Conner he said.

"OK, Dick told me there were 5 other kids that were kidnapped and forced to work for Bud, 2 girls and 3 boys. I have already called the Batplane by remote and it should be here shortly. Alfred I'll need you to stay here with Dick while I go rescue the remaining children."

Alfred nodded and asked. "Sir, what are you going to say to people when they start wondering why Batman is this far West rescuing runaway children?"

"I'll cross that bridge when we get there, but for now Conner and I have one more rescue mission. Dick told me where they were headed so I'm going that way."

Alfred nodded and watched as the two raced out of the room and out to the rental car in the parking garage.

Bruce only hoped that he could rescue the children before Dick woke up. He knew he failed to rescue Dick himself, his only hope was to rescue these missing children and get them home as well…

* * *

 **A/N:** Whew…. I thought I was never going to get done with this chapter! Over 7,000 words! Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out if Bruce was able to save those other children.

Also, if you are interested in joining a Batman group on Facebook check out: **Batman Writers Unite**. I'm the admin for it and I welcome new members. Come join the fun!


	28. Homecoming

**A/N:** Sooo sorry about the long wait! I am working on the next chapter, I won't make it as long so that I can get it posted sooner. Life's been interesting as of lately. Hope you all have a happy and safe Halloween!

Thank you to all of you who have read and reviewed this story! It warms my heart to see all of the reviews I have gotten.

* * *

Once they changed Batman and Superboy flew to where Dick had told them they would find the circus, it took only an hour to fly there at top speed. Superboy spotted the circus tent below and Batman flew down low.

"Batman, are we going to be able to hold 5 extra passengers?" Superboy asked concerned.

Batman looked down at the circus then looked at his digital map to find a good landing spot. "Yes, there's a hidden compartment in the lower part of the plane that can hold people."

Batman had gotten a good description of the missing children and typed that info into the computer. When 5 children popped up on the screen from a missing person file he knew who to look for. Landing in a nearby field he lead Superboy to the tent, there were not very many civilians at the circus tonight.

The two heroes walked the distance to the circus tent, behind a set of bleachers they could hear voices talking, and a name that stuck out.

" _So what do you think happened to Dickie? Him and Kid Flash were with Bud and Frank."_ Bruce could tell the voice belonged to a young girl.

" _I don't know, but something bad must have happened. Brett, you don't think that Bud officially kidnapped them, do you? And is holding them for ransom somewhere?"_ This time it was a young boy who had spoken.

" _The possibility is there Ernie, I mean Dick was worth millions to Bud. Our folks couldn't care less that we are gone."_

What Batman heard next made him want to rush out there but he continued to listen.

" _Maybe we should have followed Dickie, I mean at least he had the right idea to try and escape. To me, he's a hero. But do you think it's true? That Batman was coming for Dick?"_ Ernie had asked his older brother.

" _I saw these two old men talking to Batman before we left, from what I could tell he was coming for both him and Kid Flash, but I never saw where he had run off too though. I'd just seen this kid Wally appear and follow Dickie into the truck, don't know where Kid Flash went."_ Brett told his younger brother softly.

" _Stop calling him Dickie, besides he's my friend. I wanted to go but Greg wouldn't let me."_

Brett was silent for a moment longer then replied. _"I know, but it'll all work out in the end. Maybe our folks are out there looking for us? We've never stayed in the same spot long enough to find out for sure."_

A new voice came into the small group, an older boy. _"You little turds better get ready, it's almost show time."_

" _Back off Greg! Just because Bud ain't here don't mean you can start bossing us around!"_ Brett shouted at his older brother.

 _So I have found the boys and one of the girls._ Batman peaked around the corner and saw the four standing there. The redhead girl was closest to him. While the boys were distracted he called out to her.

"Hey, girl." The young girl turned around and saw a shadowy figure putting a hand on his barely masked face to his lips to silence her shock.

Motioning for her to come closer he waited until she was within earshot. "What's your name?"

"G-Grace… are you… Batman?"

Nodding confirmation he told her gently. "Where's your sister?"

"She's with Pauline getting ready for our act," Grace told him softly. He could tell she was nervous.

"How old are you?"

"I'll be 14 next month."

 _Same age as Dick…_ Batman pressed on.

"How long have you been part of this circus?"

Grace looked over at the boys who were still arguing then said. "About three years or so."

"Where are you all from?"

"I'm not sure where the boys are from. But my sister and I have traveled from one foster home to another all our lives. We've been in and out of at least 10 different states."

Batman glanced behind him at Superboy then back to Grace. "How did you end up here?"

Grace looked nervously up at the large man before her and suddenly felt afraid to answer but she did anyway, for reasons she couldn't explain this man made her feel safe for the first time in years.

"Sonia and I… we ran away from our last foster home…" She looked down at the dirt and kicked it with her bare toe.

Batman knelt down to her level and put supportive hands on her shoulders. "Why? What happened?"

"She doesn't remember Batman." He was startled when a taller and older redhead girl walked up to them. She didn't look angry but Batman could tell she was weary.

"I was 8 she was only 4, our foster dad was a mean old man; along with being a drunk, he did drugs. I didn't want my little sister to live there anymore. So, one night, I gathered as much of our things as I could carry and we left. The Circus was visiting our town in the boot hill of Missouri, I snuck us onto this truck, the same truck in fact that Dick was being held in, the following morning Bud discovered us. He was mad at first but saw potential in having 2 runaway girls as part of the circus. He started training us to be trapeze artists. I didn't tell Dick at the time, but I know him, Bud's circus and Haley's Circus crossed paths a few times and we worked with the Grayson's. Dick and Grace were too young to do any trapeze acts yet. Did you ever find him by the way? I heard that you were looking for him."

Batman stood to his full height while Sonia was talking and replied. "Yes, he has been found and returned to his father."

After a moment he noticed that the three boys were still talking but were now noticing him talking to the girls. The oldest of the boys walked quickly over.

"What the hell do you think yo doing? Leave them, girls, alone."

 _This must be Greg that Dick was telling me about._ He put his hands up in defense and told him. "I'm not here to hurt them. I'm only here to help them and to help you and your brothers."

Greg stood about to Batman's shoulders, and the boy was right up in Batman's face. Normally he would not allow that but right now time was a key factor.

"You must be Greg, listen, I found Dick. He told me everything, he also told me that you wouldn't be willing to disclose any information."

"Damn straight I'm not gonna. Sides what's it to Dickie boy if something happens to me and my brothers now that Buds away? Where is he anyway?"

Batman looked around at the children before replying. "He's in the hospital, along with his right-hand man Frank. Bruce Wayne may be a rich man who doesn't see violence as a way to solve anything but don't mess with his son. That's all I have to say on that matter."

Ernie laughed at that and asked. "Is Dickie OK? He was hurt the last I knew."

"Bruce told me he had a triple break to his arm, but he should make a quick recovery. It's not the first time I've crossed paths with Bruce Wayne or his ward Dick Grayson."

Greg frowned and asked. "How do you know so much about Dick and his guardian?"

Batman thought quick. "Because a few years ago a well-known villain killed Dick's parents. Since it was my case I helped the police and CPS find a safe and secure place for Dick to stay."

"With Bruce? He went for it? He's like a Billionaire! Why would he want some circus freak? He could have any other kid in an orphanage."

Deep down Batman knew the answers to those questions but he couldn't answer them for fear of revealing his identity to these kids.

"Listen, I got a tip that you five were all kidnapped..."

"No, Grace and I will not return to that foster home." Sonia interrupted sharply.

Batman pulled his phone out of his belt and dialed a number on it. "Agent A, does any of Bruce Wayne's charities take in foster kids? I have two teenage girls that are in need of a home."

While waiting for a reply Sonia frowned hard then looked over at the three boys. "What about you Greg? You and your brothers? Ain't you gotta place to go to?"

Batman hung up with Agent A and listened to the teenagers.

Greg's frown deepened as he replied. "Ma and Pa don love us. If they did they would have been looking hard fer us."

Superboy stepped out of the shadows and handed Greg three fliers. He had gone back to the plane and printed out the posters just in case.

Greg held the three papers in his hands and looked them over then looked at his brothers. "This is us..."

Ernie stood on tiptoes to look at the papers. "Yo mean that Ma and Pa really did love us?"

Brett looked up at Batman and asked. "Do you know where they are at? It's been years since we's seen them."

"No, but the authorities where Dick was found are aware of the situation and they want to help. I will contact Bruce Wayne about the girls. He has multiple foundations dedicated to helping others in Gotham City." Batman explained.

Noticing that the show was getting ready to start he asked them. "Do you want to finish your show?"

They all glanced back as one of the other hired hands were in the center of the tent announcing that Bud was 'ill' and would not be announcing the performances. Looking around at the younger kids Greg spoke for them all.

"Not really, I think we want to go home."

Batman gave his signature grin as he motioned for the group to follow him. Outside Superboy stood with five bags around his feet. "Batman, I took the liberty of going to the local shelter and found some clothes there that these guys should fit into to be more comfortable for traveling."

Batman nodded to the teen and told him. "Good work, now kids if you will all go change we can head out and get you to the places you need to get to."

Superboy didn't do too bad with picking out clothes for the teens, there were nice blue jeans and shirts for the boys and dresses for the girls.

Watching the kids go to two of the trailers to change Batman went into the tent and saw the few people who had gathered leave and the workers start to break everything down. An older woman approached Batman and told him.

"Thank you for saving Richie. I have been so worried about him for so long and I know he was so confused about his own reasons for running away from home."

"And you are ma'am?" Batman asked extending his black gloved hand.

"Pauline, I used to work with his parents back at Haley's Circus. After they were killed I just couldn't stay any longer. I only came to become part of this circus because of the children that I knew had been kidnapped. Bud threatened my life if I ever told anyone."

"Nice to meet you, Dick will be fine with some time and healing..." He started to say when he noticed the knowing look on her face.

She looked around for a second then told him in a low voice. "I know who you are Bruce, Richie didn't tell me so don't worry about that. Why else would Batman go to such lengths to chase after a kid that he helped years ago? I haven't told anyone, I didn't even tell Richie that I knew. I care for that boy too much, he's always been like a grandson to me."

Batman nodded and replied back. "Thank you, so what will you do now? Where will you go? Back to Haley's?"

Shaking her head she told him gently. "No, I think I will just find a small town and settle down. No sense in me to keep working at my age, not in this field anyhow."

Thinking for a second Batman asked. "Would you be interested in running a girls home? I have a foundation that supports a home for girls and they need a new director."

"In Gotham City?" She asked shocked.

Nodding he replied. "Yes, and you would be closer to Dick. Any friend of his is a friend of mine, I'm sure he would love to have you nearby."

Tears welled up as she told him. "Thank you so much, I will fly out after I help shut this place down."

"Sounds good, I need to get these kids to the authorities and the girls to Gotham."

She had turned to leave when she caught the last part. "Gotham?"

"Yes, the girls will be going to the Wayne Foundation Girl's Home," Batman told her gently.

She smiled back at him and nodded as she walked away. Batman left to meet the teenagers outside near the Batplane. Opening the cargo compartment he checked the oxygen in the room and found it was on. "This will do for now seeing as this is a two-seat plane."

Batman could see the kids were exhausted and somewhat stunned by everything happening so quickly. Climbing up to the cockpit he fired up the plane and took off again going as fast as humanly possible back to Dick's side in the hospital.

* * *

Once he landed on the helipad at the local City Hall in town he gave a description of what had gone on and that he would give word to Bruce Wayne about taking the girls with him back to Gotham City. Once the city commissioner agreed Batman made his way back to the hospital. Stopping at the rental car he changed clothes making sure the coast was clear he stepped out of the car and waited for Conner to change. The teen changed fast as he knew how and then joined Bruce on the sidewalk.

They made their way to the hospital and back to Dick's room. Bruce walked in and saw his son sitting up in bed with his right arm resting on a pillow. Dick was thumbing through a book when he looked up with a slight smile.

"Leslie said we could go home anytime."

Smiling he sat on the edge of the bed. "Yes, first thing in the morning."

Dick looked down at the page of the book then back up at Bruce. "Am I going to be punished?"

"For running away? Putting yourself in danger along with Wally? Yes, for 2 weeks it will be school and home." Bruce told him softly.

Dick looked up at Bruce then asked. "What about other activities?"

Bruce put a hand on Dick's knee and told him firmly. "We'll discuss that at home. Now you get some rest then we'll head home in the morning. I found your 5 friends by the way. The boys are with the authorities, I need to contact the Commissioner and tell him the girls will be going with us."

"You're adopting them too?" Conner asked shocked.

Chuckling Bruce told him. "No, they are going to the Wayne Foundation Girls Home where they will be placed up for adoption for a nice family. I'll see to it that it's a nice family they go to."

Conner nodded to that as he watched Dick get comfortable in bed again. Dick looked at his soon to be brother then back to Bruce. "Can we talk alone for a sec? Please."

"Yes, but not too long, he needs rest, Conner," Bruce told them as he followed Alfred out of the room.

Dick watched them go and stayed laying down since his arm was starting to hurt from sitting up too long.

The boys were silent for several moments before Conner broke the silence. "Are you mad at me about something and are too good-natured to say anything?"

Dick knew this was coming. "No, I'm not mad at you, or Bruce. I guess… I don't know… I felt… whelmed. Ya know, I mean everything has changed so fast in the last couple of years. The team forming, missions, new team members, then the constant strain that comes when Bruce and Clark would argue about you. I found the one place I couldn't be stressed and that was home. Don't take this the wrong way by how it sounds but, then Bruce decided to bring you home and make you a part of our family. Which of course Clark didn't like and they are arguing again, but this time it's not on the Mountain it's at home."

"The one place where things were half normal, I get it. Too much going on at once, too hard to handle." Conner replied.

"You could say that yeah. If Bruce and Clark are going to argue then I wish they would do it elsewhere and not where we can hear it… OK, where I can hear it. I'm only 13 for crying out loud! Being a teenager is hard enough without the added stress..."

Conner frowned then asked. "Are you thinking of quitting?"

Dick grew silent again, then after a few minutes replied. "Not really quitting, but I think another change is in order."

"Like that worked really well last time there was change."

"I know, and I am really sorry about that. I promise to never run away again." Dick told him then looked over to the door when Bruce opened it back up.

"Time's up boys, Dick you need your rest."

"Yes, sir..." Dick said tiredly. He laid his head down and fell asleep moments later. Conner had stayed with him and watched out for him while he slept. He would get the answer to what Dick was talking about when they got home.

* * *

The following day they arrived back at the Manor to find Clark in the front hall waiting.

"What the heck is going on Bruce? Why's Dick's arm broke? Why have you guys been across the country for a few days?"

Bruce glared at Clark and told him flatly. "That's really none of your business."

Dick glanced over at Conner as the taller boy stepped between them stubbornly. "You know if you two are going to fight then take it outside. I for one am so sick of hearing it, I'm sure I'm not alone on this one."

Bruce and Clark looked at Conner shocked, then Bruce responded. "Fair enough. Right now Dick needs his rest, if you would go to the Batcave we'll talk there after I get Dick settled in."

Clark didn't say a word as he turned and walked to the Batcave entrance in the downstairs study. Bruce shook his head as he leads the boys upstairs.

"I'll bring you up some lunch Master Dick. Is there anything special you would like?"

Shaking his head he followed Bruce up the stairs quietly, he knew the second half of their conversation was coming and he half dreaded it. He had something to tell Bruce but he didn't quite know how to do it.

Dick got settled in bed after changing into some pajamas, he had to wear short sleeves since the cast he had to wear for the next 8 weeks or so was pretty bulky. Bruce examined him further once the boy got cleaned up a little more. He saw all the fading bruises and scars. He wanted to go after Bud again but knew the man was over 1000 miles away.

Alfred brought him some soup and a sandwich along with his pain medicine that Leslie prescribed the boy. He could clearly see Dick was in pain even though he wasn't going to admit it. Conner had gone to the hallway while Bruce was looking Dick over and helping him get dressed. He came into the room again when Alfred went in.

"How are we feeling Master Dick?" He asked as he set the tray on Dick's lap.

"Bout as well as a guy can get having a busted arm." Was the short reply as he started to eat his sandwich. Taking his medicine he swallowed it down with milk and then looked up at Alfred.

"Thanks, sorry for worrying you."

"It's quite alright Master Dick, but please, try to refrain from giving this old man more gray hairs than I already have."

Giving a slight laugh Dick looked up at Bruce who was still looking worriedly at him. "Bruce, I'm fine, my arm doesn't hurt all that bad."

Bruce turned to Alfred and gave a slight nod, the elder man gave a silent agreement and left the room. Conner stood by but when Bruce didn't address him he just stood there listening.

"Dick, you realize that you're going to be out of commission for quite a while right?"

Rolling his eyes Dick told him. "Yeah, going to be hard to fight crime or do anything else for a while with a broken arm."

"The doctors told me it could be several months depending on your ability to heal."

Rolling his eyes he found the idea of being benched a non-issue. "I know, I'm benched until after my arm heals and probably some therapy to get it strong again."

Frowning Bruce commented. "You're awful agreeable to being benched… A year ago you would be having a fit."

Dick let out a sigh and told him. "Maybe I need a break? I've been at this for four years now, maybe this downtime will help me out some."

Bruce was relieved he didn't have to fight with the boy about the issue. "Dick, we do need to talk however about why you ran away, I know we talked some in the hospital but this is serious."

Dick met Conner's eyes before looking back at Bruce. "I'm sorry, I misunderstood what you had said down in the cave..."

"Don't give me that Richard Grayson, you and I both know something else is bothering you. It wasn't that at all. Since when does criticism bother you?" Turning to Conner he added.

"Conner, would you please go to the Batcave with Clark."

Bruce knew that was the only way the two Kryptonians could not overhear what was being said in the house.

Meeting Dick's eyes Conner nodded and replied. "Yes, sir."

Once the door was shut Bruce turned back to his troubled son and said. "Talk, I'm not leaving until you explain what happened. This is serious, you ran away supposedly because of a comment I made to Conner which wouldn't have bothered you a year ago."

Dick was silent for a few minutes he looked around the room before meeting Bruce's worried eyes.

"I guess… I guess I was jealous. I know I shouldn't have been, I kept thinking the worst about the entire situation. I want you to adopt Conner I really do, I guess part of me the kid in me kept thinking that once you do that you'll see that Conner is a better son for you because he's faster, stronger and can do things that I can't. Like with Mr. Freeze, I felt like a third wheel. Like I didn't need to be there… You're not mad at Jason, are you? For helping me run away? I know you had to have found out about that." Dick told him.

"You're right, I know that Jason helped you. No, I'm not mad at him… well, maybe a little but what good does it do anyone to remain angry at a troubled child. You should know by now that… that I love you, Dick, you've become a son to me in the last 5 years. Adding Conner doesn't change my love for you. I see how good Conner is for you, he will also be good in helping you heal from your parent's deaths. It may have happened 5 years ago but it's best if maybe you talked to another kid instead of just me and Alfred or even Wallace. I wish sometimes I had someone besides just Alfred to talk to back when I was younger, maybe I wouldn't have turned out to be such a grouch. It's not Alfred's fault, it's mine for not always confiding in him when I needed to. I don't want you to turn out like me, in the future if you ever want to take the mantle as Batman when the day comes that I step down that choice will ultimately be yours and yours alone. I am not pushing you to be that type of person that strikes fear into the hearts of others."

Bruce was silent for a moment then added. "I'm sorry for making you feel that way when we were battling Mr. Freeze. It wasn't my intention for that to happen. Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

Dick looked down at his tray then back to Bruce again. "Better question, is there anything _you_ want to talk about? I know it had to be hard on you knowing that you couldn't find me. I kind of made that hard leaving my tracker here in Gotham along with my phone."

Bruce looked down for a moment then back up at his son. "It did bother me that even the worlds greatest detective couldn't find you but two elderly men could, two total strangers. I am grateful for them though. But I was angry with myself for not being able to find you. I looked hard to..."

Trailing off he remembered the team that he didn't think to ask if Conner and Wally had called off the search with the team. _I'll ask them later, right now Dick needs me._

"What's wrong Bruce?" Dick had noticed that the older man had not finished his sentence.

"I was just thinking about something. It's alright, don't worry about it."

"So am I really grounded? Or were you just caught up in the moment?"

Bruce gave his son a smirk and told him. "Oh you are really grounded, but there's not much you can really do at the moment anyway since you're out of commission for at least a month or two or more for recovery. Leslie said you'll have to keep the cast on for several weeks then have to do therapy to strengthen it again."

"Figures, so when do I get to go be Robin again?" For some reason that Dick couldn't explain this was actually the last thing, he was thinking about.

"After therapy, you'll get to resume duties as Robin."

Dick looked off to the side for a moment, something had been eating at him for a few weeks now came back to mind. "Bruce, would you be mad if I took a break from Robin?"

Bruce frowned deeply at the sound of that. "Robin's your life, are you thinking about quitting?"

Biting his bottom lip he thought about that possibility. "I just want a break is all, you know, give a normal life a chance. I can still help Batman when homework is done and on weekends from the Batcave so I'm not completely quitting the superhero gig."

"This isn't about Conner again is it?"

"No, this is something I've been thinking about, now I have an excuse to do it. I just want to be sure you're OK with it?"

Bruce let out a long breath and then told Dick. "It's up to you if you want to take a break or not. I'm not forcing you to do anything you're not wanting to do. You have my blessing to step down if you see that you need to. Whenever you want the position back just let me know OK?"

"Yes sir, and thank you. Should I tell the team?"

"I'll grant you that, we'll have to come up with a cover story for why you're arm is broke and in a cast that goes up to your shoulder."

Dick thought about it for a moment before saying. "How about that I was on a school ski trip and fell down a huge hill or something?"

"That would work possibly. But we will think of something."

"Does the press know? Or CPS that I took off?"

Bruce frowned and replied. "Not that I am aware of, I tried to keep the police and the press out of this."

* * *

In the Batcave Clark looked up when he heard someone coming from the entrance by the study, he saw Conner.

"Where's Bruce?"

"Talking to Dick, he wanted me to come down here so I don't hear what's being said," Conner explained as he stood before the man of steel.

"I see."

Clark looked around the cave for a moment before saying. "So why don't you give me your version of what happened?"

Conner looked back to the staircase then to Clark again. "I don't know if I'm supposed to talk about it yet..."

"If Bruce has a problem with it I'll deal with him OK? You won't get into trouble."

Conner shifted while standing for a few moments, debating on where to start. "Well… it started probably about two weeks or so after I came here. Dick started getting into trouble a lot, Bruce said he doesn't take change well. Anyway, Bruce tried to talk to him and it seemed to work for a while. He never treated me any differently than when we were at the Mountain. Now maybe I did something wrong but shortly after Dick and Bruce rescued this kid that ran away and was lost in the snow was when Dick ran off himself. Dick disappeared during school one day, I couldn't find him for nothing. The school called Bruce and he came and picked me up. We searched for him for quite a while, we even went out as Superboy and Batman and still nothing.

Turns out he stripped himself of his tracking devices and ran off with a circus that was visiting. When we found him across the country he was pretty banged up, his arm is broke pretty bad. I helped him escape the bad circus manager and his friend when they tried to rekidnap Dick in the woods outside of Adam and Gervis's house."

"Who's Gervis and Adam?" Clark demanded.

"Two retired detectives from what Bruce told me, they are really nice guys. They helped Dick and Wally escape those guys."

Clark's frown deepened and he asked dreading the answer. "How did Wally get caught up in all of this?"

Conner looked down at the dirt covered ground of the cave and said softly. "I asked him for his help to find Dick… I asked the entire team. They only know that Robin was missing though, Wally knew otherwise."

Clark shook his head in disbelief. "Bruce was OK with that?"

"No, I wasn't." Bruce interrupted as he walked down the steps hearing the end of the conversation.

Conner spun around and saw his soon to be father and said. "Sorry, Bruce… I…"

Bruce waved him off and spoke to Clark. "So you must know, Dick got jealous and instead of facing up to it and talking to me he took matters into his own hands and ran off. Conner go call your team back, I just told Dick they are out looking for him."

"What do I say if they ask where he was?" Conner asked as he started for the Zeta Tube.

"I'll handle it, just tell them 'On Batman's orders you are to abort the mission. Robin has been found, return to the Mountain at once for a briefing.' I will be there in about half an hour to brief them on what happened. Remain at the mountain until I get there." Bruce told him firmly.

Nodding once in understanding Conner went to the Mountain to update his friends.

Turning to Clark Bruce spoke firmly. "Dick refused to admit that he was jealous of Conner, but what sent him over the edge was a misunderstanding when he heard me training Conner and I was commenting on his skills. He must have mistaken what I said and took off thinking I was talking down about him behind his back."

"I see, so how did he end up across the country?" Clark asked.

"How much of what happened did Conner tell you?"

"Not really sure, he had just told me that two retired detectives rescued him."

"OK, he told you most of it at least, apparently the circus ringmaster was a notorious kidnapper that would take children that it would seem parents didn't want them then stick them into a circus and abuse them. The circus manager Bud thought he and his friend Frank were going to continue to get away with the kidnappings when they came across Dick. The first mistake they made was taking him with them, that boys good at getting information and reading people. The only downfall was he wasn't emotionally sound at the time and Dick allowed himself to become kidnapped and one of the victims. Bud went as far away as he possibly could with him. His biggest mistake was contacting me as Bruce to demand an outrageous ransom. Now then he informed me of Dick's whereabouts. Since Dick took off his trackers it was impossible for me to locate him as myself or Batman. Conner didn't get to tell you his greatest victory tho, he used his heat vision to save Dick."

Clark's eyes grew wide. "His what? That developed already?"

"It's not strong like yours is, but it was just strong enough to heat up a gun in of Frank's hands and cause enough of a distraction for me to arrive on the scene in the woods when Dick ran off again. I still am not sure why he did that but he fell asleep on me before I could get any more information out of him."

"How did the gun not explode? The heat should have set it off."

"Conner aimed for his hand, or the handle of the gun, he knew it could explode if it got too hot. Lucky the man let go of the gun before it could. He was trying to be as discreet as possible so not to give away that he was a superhero. Or better yet Kryptonian. That would give away that he was related to you. I think we both had a lot of misses with identity reviles here. Dick's worried though that the press knows about Batman or myself being across the country."

Clark reached into his back pocket and pulled out the Gotham Enquirer _Bruce Wayne makes a surprise visit to Wyoming._ In small letters below the headline was a photo of Dick that read: _Dick Grayson ran from home to rejoin the circus. Bruce Wayne makes an unscheduled visit to bring his ward home._

Letting out a heavy sigh Bruce put his hand over his face and then groaned saying. "Seriously… what next."

Clark crossed his arms over his chest and told his old friend. "That's not all."

Pulling another article out of his other back pocket he handed the white paper over to his friend. "I stopped this from making the front page. Evidently, a Metropolis reporter was at the hospital when Dick was being discharged."

 **Daily Planet:** _Richard Grayson's unexplained injury makes us all wonder what really goes on behind closed doors. Why was his guardian in_ _Wyoming_ _? The two old men who were interviewed refused to cooperate when questioned about why Wayne was at their home the previous evening. What_ _scandal_ _is the city of Gotham in for now?_

"Great… just great." Bruce groaned out.

"I stopped it from reaching the editor Bruce, I took it out of the box before it could be seen."

Out of all the friends, Bruce could possibly have in life, Clark, a reporter no less, was the best friend to have.

"Great, this isn't much different than what happened back in New York."

"Oh, you mean Superboy saving Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne? Yeah, I stopped that article too."

Bruce put his face in his hands in disbelief and then looked at his old friend. "Thank you for that. Dick is walking away from Robin."

Clark's eyes grew wide as he exclaimed. "He's what? Why?"

"He says he needs a break, I promised him I'd support his decision. This wasn't an easy one to make."

Clark looked dumbfounded for a moment before saying. "So he's choosing to step down after all these years. I thought he loved the superhero gig? What changed his mind?"

"Just by what has been going on, I'd say he's burned out. He's still pretty young, a normal life might do him a world of good. I may not take Conner with me on a lot of missions into the city but I will need some backup."

Nodding in agreement Clark replied. "I support him too, I still say he was too young, to begin with becoming a superhero at such a young age."

"Don't start, besides if memory serves Conner was much younger."

"Funny, very funny. Besides I'm not the one who introduced him to the superhero world."

Bruce let out a sigh, he didn't feel like fighting with Clark right now. "I know, I didn't either, but if it wasn't for those defiant kids he'd been a weapon to use against you. Thankfully the kids found him before he could reach full power. He can develop the powers at a slower rate and use them for good."

Clark let out a sigh and told his old friend. "So, how are you going to explain what happened? You know that the press knows now. Or at least a fragment of what had occurred."

"I'll figure something out."

"Did you have a talk with that Jason kid that helped Dick run away?"

"You better believe I did," Bruce told him firmly.

* * *

Once at the Mountain Conner went to the control room and contacted Aqualad.

"Superboy calling Aqualad, come in."

" _What have you found out my friend?"_

"Robin has been found and has been returned to Gotham City."

" _Roger that, we are turning around and heading back. Is he alright? Were there any injuries?"_

 _What do I say? I can't tell them the truth, Artemis goes to our school, she'll put 2 and 2 together if she see's Dick's arm…_

"Batman asked me not to disclose any information until he speaks with you guys himself."

" _Understood. Over and out."_

Sitting back in the swivel chair Conner looked at the blank screen for a moment before looking down at the controls, he knew Bruce and Clark were both in the Batcave so he pressed the button to connect.

Bruce's face filled the screen.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just thought I'd tell ya that they are on their way back. The team I mean."

Bruce was silent for a moment then asked. "What did you tell them?"

"That Robin was hurt and I can't disclose what his injuries are. That you would fill them in on the situation."

"Good boy, you did the right thing. It's going to take them a while to get back Agent A just reported that Robin is asking for you."

Hesitating for a second Conner replied. "OK be there in a few. How's Wolf? I never got the chance to check on him."

A bark could be heard behind Bruce as the billionaire moved away from the screen to show the large white wolf behind him.

"Hi boy! I'm coming back OK."

Wolf barked once more before Conner shut the screen off and hurried back to the Batcave where Wolf jumped on him the second he appeared knocking him to the ground.

"My word, I would say Wolf is excited to see Master Conner."

"I'd say so," Bruce remarked walking over to the two.

Clark stood off to the side watching the scene. Shaking his head he walked over to Alfred. "I had a dog growing up… But she wasn't that big."

"I assume Master Clark that your parents didn't allow you to keep a pet wolf."

"No, Ma would have thrown a fit."

Clark passed by Conner and went to the Zeta Tube. Bruce watched him leave then looked back down at Wolf licking Conner happily. His mind wandered back to that little orange kitten that got left behind in Wyoming.

"Alright Wolf, that's enough," Bruce told the oversized animal.

Wolf lifted his head and looked back at Bruce before getting off of his friend. Conner got to his feet and brushed the dirt off his clothes.

"Conner, how fond of that cat was Dick when you saw him?"

Frowning slightly Conner replied. "I'm not really sure, he wasn't feeling the best when we got back and was in a ton of pain. The cat walked around and made sounds but other than that didn't really bother us much."

Nodding Bruce headed for the Mountain to go meet up with the rest of the team.

* * *

Conner headed upstairs after Batman left to talk to Dick, he worried that he might have done something to cause Dick pain or upset him enough to make him run away like this. As he got closer to Dick's room he could hear the sound of a page turning and concluded that the younger boy was reading. Knocking on the door he let himself in to find Dick sitting up.

Dick looked up and gave a slight smile and said. "Hey."

"Hey, you up for some company?"

Dick put his magazine aside and told his soon to be brother. "Yeah, have a seat."

Conner walked over and sat down next to the bed. Taking a deep breath he spoke before Dick had a chance to.

"Dick, I'm sorry if I did anything to make you mad at me. You and Bruce seem to talk all the time, why didn't you talk to him about your problem instead of running away?"

Dick looked down at his bedspread for a moment before replying. "I don't know… I guess I just got whelmed. So much has happened in the last year. So much has changed, now we have this new team of heroes that Bruce looks after. Before then it was just me and him… I guess I got jealous… You didn't do anything wrong, I was just being an immature brat."

Conner was silent for a moment before asking. "What if he adopts more kids than just me?"

"Trust me I won't run away again… By the time Bruce is ready to adopt another kid I'll be outta high school. Maybe… I hope anyway."

Chuckling a little Conner told him. "Just promise me you'll think it over before ever deciding to pull this stunt again."

"I promise, besides Bruce grounded me."

"So how long are you benched from Robin?" Conner asked, but to his surprise, Dick looked out the window and didn't respond right away.

Taking a drink of water Dick replied back. "I've been doing some thinking… I need to make a choice… It's not easy for me but I have to..."

"You're quitting aren't you?"

"Not for long, it's temporary. I'll come back, just not right now. I need to do some growing up first."

Frowning he replied. "What about the team? What about Batman?"

Giving a slight smile Dick told him gently. "There was a Batman long before Robin showed up into the picture, besides he has you to take my place for a while. I'll still help out in monitoring the city but from the sidelines. I promise I'll come back."

Looking off to the side Conner had to ask. "You won't get jealous again, will you? And think that I am taking Robin's place?"

"No, I learned my lesson… But I want to be active in school and do stuff instead of not being able to participate because of crime fighting."

"Like what?"

"Basketball, I never learned before staying here. Bruce taught me, but he calls it 'hand-eye coordination training'."

Both boys laughed at that just as the door opened and Alfred came in. "I do say, Master Dick, you need your rest."

The hall phone rang and Alfred put a basket of clothes down and went to answer it. Conner cocked his head and Dick knew the older boy was listening in.

"Hey it's those guys from Wyoming, they wanted to know if you wanted the kitten you left behind."

Dick climbed out of bed as quickly as he could before Alfred said no and shouted into the hall. "Tell them yes Alfred! I do want that kitten!"

Alfred put his hand over the receiver and asked. "But why Master Dick?"

"Because he's an orphan… and because I wanted him. Bruce didn't say no! Just ask him."

Conner slipped out of the room and used his speed to race to the Mountain to inform Bruce what was going on. He didn't bother changing clothes since everyone knew who he was already. He found Batman in the report room alone so he went on in.

Batman turned when he heard footsteps fast approaching. "What's wrong?"

"Agent A is on the phone with those guys from across country where we found Robin. Robin wants to keep that cat that you were asking me about, but Agent A is saying no."

Batman looked at the screen and then back to Superboy. "Stay here, if the team comes back tell them to wait on me."

He made out what Batman was grumbling under his breath and gave a chuckle at what he had heard.

* * *

Batman re-entered the Batcave and didn't bother changing clothes as he rushed up to Dick's room, or rather, the hall where Alfred was telling Dick why he couldn't have a pet.

"Alfred, if he wants a pet let him. Conner has Wolf, why can't Dick have this cat? Besides a little more life would be just the thing to brighten this place up and keep Dick occupied. He needs to learn a little responsibility this would be just the ticket." Bruce told his old friend who was standing there staring in shock.

Normally Alfred would insist that this was not the place to raise a pet, but thought better of it and said to Adam. "It is alright, you may bring him."

Bruce nodded in agreement and turned to go back to the Batcave making a mental note to pick up cat supplies.

Dick watched him go in astonishment but didn't dare say a word for fear of changing his mind. After Alfred hung the phone up Dick walked back to his room and back to bed.

He thought about his conversation with Conner, he knew he had screwed up when he ran away. He felt stupid now for doing it, but you can't change the past. As he laid there he decided that whatever Bruce decided to do in the future, he wouldn't overreact or do anything stupid again.


	29. Conner Kent-Wayne

**A/N:** So sorry for the long wait! Trust me it will be worth it. This is the next to last chapter. I am working on Chapter 30 now, it won't be nearly as long and will be an introduction to... The next Robin.

* * *

It had been hours since Bruce had left the Mountain after filling the others in on Robin's whereabouts. He was walking the halls of his home, he could hear from the living room Conner playing with Wolf. He didn't regret his decision about adopting Conner, it was only a matter of time when he found out his court date to get everything finalized. Bruce gave a slight grin as he stood in the doorway to the living room and watched Conner and Wolf play. He thought about the kitten that was on his way to Gotham from Wyoming he had made the right choice in allowing Dick to finally have a pet. The boy had always wanted a companion of some kind, Bruce had always agreed with Alfred about not allowing pets in his home. But it wouldn't be fair to allow Conner to have his pet and not allow Dick to keep the kitten he rescued.

Heading upstairs he stepped into Dick's room to check on him, the teen was laying down on his back with his casted arm perched on a pillow asleep. Giving him a smile he left the room and went back to the cave to do some work he had been neglecting the past few weeks. He noticed that a few arrests had been made recently by Justice League members who were keeping an eye on the city in his absence.

"Are you going out tonight?"

Bruce glanced over and saw Conner standing there. "Maybe, I'm thinking about it."

"Then go, Dick will be fine. He won't leave again."

"I know he won't, I just worry about him..."

Conner chuckled and told him. "You know if only Clark could see how you're acting."

"Don't even think about it," Bruce told him with a warning in his tone.

Conner turned and went back up the stairs and Bruce went out for a few hours, when he got home he saw both boys asleep soundly in Dick's room.

* * *

 _Weeks later…_

Bruce was in the middle of a meeting when a call came in. His secretary came into the meeting and cleared her throat nervously when she got the men's attention.

"Sorry to interrupt Mr. Wayne, but there's a phone call for you. They were very urgent."

Bruce looked around at the waiting businessmen and told her. "Can you take a message?"

"Sorry sir, but they said it's important."

Bruce looked around the room and told the men. "Give me a few moments, sorry."

Lucius gave him an understanding nod and told him. "I'll continue Bruce go take the call."

Bruce walked out of the meeting room and to the receptionist area. "It's not Dick is it?"

"No sir, I didn't think you wanted me to announce who the caller was, CPS is on line 3." She told him with a worried look.

Swallowing hard he went to his office down the hall and shut the door. Picking up the phone he looked down at the flashing line 3 pressing the button he waited for a second then said.

"Hello? This is Bruce Wayne."

"Good morning, Mr. Wayne. This is Ms. May Conner's social worker. I'm pleased to inform you that we have a date set up to finalize his adoption."

Bruce felt relief wash over him as he opened his appointment book. "Great, what date?"

"Would April 3rd be alright? I know you're a busy man but I just want to clarify the date before I set it in stone."

Noticing it was a Monday he sighed when he saw he had an all-day board meeting along with a short trip to New York again for a business deal. He'd be gone most of the week, and he was required to be there in person. Flipping to the next week he saw he was booked again. Letting out a frustrated sigh he told her.

"I'm booked for the first couple weeks, this is frustrating..."

She chuckled slightly and told him. "I understand Mr. Wayne, you want to get this over with and obstacles get in the way. How about the 3rd week in April?"

Bruce saw that the 19th, 20th and 21st were all free. "The 19th-21st look like they are the only days I have open that month." He couldn't believe he had to put something so important on hold because of his business… at one point in his life, he would not have allowed for anything to bother him when it came to his work. Now that he was a father things have changed so much.

He could hear the understanding in her voice as she said. "I understand, how about Friday, April 21st at 9 am? That would give you the entire weekend to be with your boys officially."

"Sounds good, also, I want to hyphenate Conner's name. Conner Kent-Wayne is what I'd like it to be. I did that for Dick too."

"OK, Mr. Wayne, You will need to tell the judge that when you go to court that day."

Bruce gave a slight grin and replied. "Thank you for calling, will you be in the courtroom with us that day?"

"I can't make it, but I don't really need to be present in this case. Good luck to you and your sons."

Bruce felt as though a weight was finally being lifted off his chest, this was finally happening after all of these months. It seemed like a year or two had passed instead of a matter of months. He looked over at the clock and saw that the meeting had a little while left before they took a break for lunch. Getting up he went to the meeting with the intentions of leaving work during lunch.

* * *

Dick saw Conner coming up the hall between classes and met up with him. "Hey, I gotta stay after school to work on my Science project. I text Bruce but he hasn't responded yet."

Conner shook his head and looked at the smaller boy's casted arm. "I'm still surprised Bruce let you come back to school so quick. But I'll tell him if you don't hear from him beforehand."

The two boys walked quietly to the lunch room and stood in line. About 5 to 10 minutes later while they were waiting they heard an overhead page.

"Richard Grayson and Conner Kent, please report to the office."

Both boys looked at each other and walked quickly towards the office.

"What happened? Did we do something wrong?" Conner asked worriedly.

Shaking his head Dick told him. "No, if we were in trouble the principal would have paged not the receptionist."

They went up a small round of steps then around a corner, Dick frowned when he saw Bruce standing just outside the office door. To both boys surprise, he had that smirk he was so well known for on his face.

"What's going on Bruce? Is Alfred OK?" Dick asked concerned.

Nodding Bruce replied. "He's fine Dick, I got an interesting phone call just a little bit ago and I have another meeting this afternoon so it is going to be late when I get home to tell you. We have a date finally."

Conner's eyes lit up as he asked hopefully. "An adoption date?"

Nodding his head Bruce replied back. "Yes, the 21st of April. I came in to make arrangements for you two to be out of school for that week. I know it's less than a month away but I wanted to be ready for it."

Dick's eyes grew wide. "Seriously! 2 weeks off from school! This is awesome! Easter Break is the week before." He added that in seeing Bruce's confusion.

"Then you two will be rested up for the following week then when you go back to school. I didn't feel this sort of news would be best given over the phone. That and my meeting this afternoon."

"This is so awesome! Does Alfred know?" Dick asked quickly.

"Yes, I called him before I got here."

"So you called him but came to give us the news in person…" Dick told him slyly.

Bruce chuckled and told Dick. "I'm complicated you know that. You two better run on to lunch before your next class and I will see you both this evening some time."

Both boys hurried off after telling Bruce good-bye, he knew it was just a matter of time and their lives were going to change forever…

* * *

 _The week of Easter…_

When Dick looked at his calendar that morning he couldn't believe that in just over a week he'd have a permanent big brother. It was hard to believe how much his life had changed since his parent's deaths. He had been an only child for 13 years and now at 14 was officially getting an older brother.

With Easter fast approaching Conner couldn't understand what all the fuss was over a large rabbit giving out eggs and chocolate. Dick tried to explain the tradition but to no avail. Alfred sat him down and explained the entire thing, the true story of Easter. Unfortunately, it confused him again because he wanted to know how anyone could get a rabbit story out of a resurrection story.

The kitten that Adam and Gervis had promised to bring back to Dick arrived a few days after Adam had called. Dick named him after his mother's favorite cartoon character from the 90's, Garfield. The orange tabby cat roamed the halls of Wayne Manor and always found new places to find mischief. The humor really began when Wolf met the new member of the family. The tiny 2-pound kitten was terrified of the massive wolf hybrid. Wolf, on the other hand, was curious of the new member and would attempt to check the little guy out only to receive a scratch on his nose or get hissed at.

Bruce just kept saying they would get along eventually. Alfred appeared as though he was not impressed with the newest member of the family, but when no one was looking the old man could be found petting the small creature and talking to it.

Dick kept his promise and took full responsibility for the cat, he made it part of his morning routine to clean out the litter box and feed him before school.

As he reminisced about how much had changed over the past several months he didn't hear his door open.

"Dick?" Conner asked as he walked into the room. The younger boy hadn't answered when he knocked so he came in.

Shaking his head Dick glanced over and told him. "Sorry, got lost in thought for a sec there. What's up?"

"Alfred says breakfast will be ready soon. What are you thinking about so seriously?"

"Thinking about everything that has changed in the past several years since my parent's died. Becoming an orphan, then getting taken in by the richest man in town, becoming Robin, and now I'm going to be some one's brother. I've even seen a change in Bruce in the past several years, at first he seemed so kind and concerned, then he got distant and cold. But once I became Robin it's like he totally flipped on me. He used to work till all hours of the evening or night and not come home till morning. From what I've been told he was a playboy who had a new girl every weekend. You know, since I've been here I think there has only been one girl over? She still comes by but not as often."

Frowning a little the taller boy sat on Dick's bed. "Who is she?"

Dick chuckled a little and told him. "Now don't go freaking out on me, but her name is Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman."

"Seriously? He's dating a villain?"

"Well sort of, the relationship goes way back to before he became Batman and her Catwoman, he knew her when he was our age. But when he went away when he was 14 to start his training Selina disappeared only to reappear years later as the villainess Catwoman. It took Bruce a while until he found out who she really was. I'm not sure she knows who he is but even if she does it doesn't seem to bother her."

Conner shook his head and then told him. "Wow, that's crazy. As far as I know, Clark isn't dating anyone… hopefully, he's not dating a villain too."

"He's not, he's dating Lois from the newspaper office. They've been going out for years, and what's funny is she hasn't made the connection yet. Funny how those glasses seem to mask his identity so well."

Conner shook his head and then stood up. "We better get to breakfast before Alfred or Bruce come up here."

Without a word Dick got up and followed Conner out of the room, they went down the staircase and to the dining room where Bruce was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee reading the paper.

Looking up he gave them a grin and said. "Good morning boys."

"Morning Bruce," Dick told him as he sat across from him and Conner sat on the other side of Dick and just nodded his head.

Alfred came in with their breakfast and smiled at the small family, it was getting harder to remember a time when this house was so dark and dreary. Back when it was just himself and Bruce, now there were two teenage boys.

Wolf and Garfield came running into the room at the smell of food. The orange cat jumped up on the table and ran the length towards the three males. Bruce glared at him and told him firmly. "Get down, you know better than that."

The kitten meowed a protest but jumped down and onto a chair next to his boy but concentrating mostly on the plate of food.

Alfred shook his head and looked at the small creature. "Cats do not belong at the table Master Dick."

Dick shook his head as he turned to his little friend. "Get down boy, you know better."

The little kitten put his ears back, gave a small meow of protest and jumped down rubbing up against Dick's legs.

Alfred had gone to the kitchen and brought back the bowl of cat food, shaking it Garfield scampered off after the butler.

"You would think he's like Wolf and can actually understand what we are saying to him," Conner remarked.

"Animals are strange like that," Bruce commented as he took a sip of his coffee.

They all ate in silence, Bruce looked up after he was finished and told the boys. "Boys, I have to go to the office for a little while today so I want you both to be on your best behavior."

"I can't misbehave too much with a busted arm," Dick told him flatly.

Shaking his head Bruce just ignored the comment and told Dick. "If you feel up to it would you file the Justice League report for me this morning. It shouldn't take too long, then I want you to get some rest."

"Sure," Dick said as he took a long drink from his orange juice.

Since he stepped down as Robin he had found out he was still very useful in crime fighting by filing reports and running errands for the league. It didn't bother him one bit, he was even doing better in school.

After breakfast was over Bruce went to work, Conner took Wolf outside and Dick went to the Batcave to work on files.

As he sat there he began to think about the past again and how much things had changed. He didn't feel guilty about stepping down as Robin but part of him wanted to create a new and better persona. Someone who was similar to Batman but not as scary. He remembered a story Clark had told him once when he babysat, about a superhero on Krypton.

 _I wonder if Bruce ever did any research on Krypton? I'm sure he did...  
_

Dick made fast work of filing away the Justice League reports than did his own research.

He did find a file on Superman while searching through the Batcomputer.

As he clicked through and read over the files marked _Krypton Heroes_ he didn't hear someone entering the cave until…

"What are you looking at?"

Dick jumped half out of the seat and spun around to see Conner standing behind him. Spinning around he looked up at his older brother.

"Just curious about something."

Conner studied the screen for a moment before replying. "It looks like you're studying a superhero."

Conner pulled over another chair and sat down facing Dick. "What's going on? Are you regretting your decision about stepping down?"

Dick shook his head and told him. "Not exactly, Clark told me this story a long time ago about heroes that used to live on Krypton that would protect the citizens there..."

"He was just a baby when he left. How would he know this?"

Letting out a sigh Dick told him. "When Krypton was being destroyed, Clark's mother and father put him in a spaceship and sent him into outer space. His ship came to Earth and crashed on a field in Kansas. That's where he met the Kent's. Not having any children of their own they took Clark in and raised him. Our sun in this solar system gave him the abilities he has today, the red sun that orbits Krypton makes him like the citizens of Earth. Also, his father made a history video about the planet before putting him on the ship."

"So that's why Bruce has that device in the training room?"

"Yes, so you don't severely hurt anyone during training. I thought we explained that to you already?"

Shrugging Conner told him. "I think you did, but with the way things have been lately I must have forgotten."

"Understandable." Dick turned back to the computer and clicked on one of the superheroes that were on the screen.

"This is the persona I'm thinking of going with."

"Nightwing? That's a funny name."

"Oh, and Superboy is much better?"

"Funny, so this is who you're thinking of becoming? When?"

Dick let out a sigh and told him honestly. "Don't know, I'm still stepping down for a while. So probably within the next few years, I have to create the costume first. I'll have Alfred help with it, but I think this is who I wanna be. I mean it kinda fits with the whole dynamic duo thing for Gotham. Batman and Nightwing."

Cringing slightly Conner replied back. "I like Batman and Robin better but hey, it's your call."

They were silent for several minutes as Dick brought up another file that would enable him to create a virtual design of his new costume. As he worked he was aware of Conner watching him but it didn't bother him.

After several moments Conner spoke. "Dick, can I ask you something?"

Dick stopped what he was doing and turned in his seat to face the taller boy. "What's up?"

Conner looked down hesitantly then asked. "Does it feel any different once you're adopted? I know I probably asked before but..."

Dick gave a slight grin and replied. "I understand, in some ways yeah you do feel different. Or at least I did anyway. When I first moved in with Bruce it was temporary until a permanent family could be found. But over time Bruce and I bonded, and I really didn't wanna leave. Then I found out about his secret identity… By that point I had been here for several months, Bruce was home more often and we spent some time together whether it be playing basketball, or in his case, he called it 'hand-eye coordination training'. It took little over a year and a half before he made the final decision to adopt me though. He was nervous that it was something I didn't want, but in all fairness, I was hoping he would have done it much sooner. Anyway, when the papers were signed and my last name changed from Grayson to Grayson-Wayne I felt like nothing could take me away from the one place that felt like home since my parent's died. I knew CPS could swoop in and take me away any given day, so knowing that I was adopted was setting it in stone that I couldn't be taken away ever. Bruce is a good man, it took a while before he got a hang of being a father figure. But I wouldn't trade him for anyone else in the world. Not because he made me a superhero or because he found justice for my parent's murder, but because he made me feel safe and secure where the Detention Center made me scared. I was so scared the day Bruce got me out of that place. I remember many nights Alfred had to force me to come out of my room. There was one night, Bruce must have been out as Batman because when he got home he was sweaty and was in sweatpants and a white tee-shirt. He clearly hadn't taken a shower because he had dirt on his face and arms, and had changed in a hurry. He came rushing into my room worried and kept asking me what was wrong."

They were silent again for a few moments before Conner spoke up. "Wow, he really turned into a good dad didn't he?"

"He's getting there. At first, he had no clue as to what he was doing. But after all these years he's getting better at showing emotions..."

Conner gave him a look. "Conner please, you know what I mean, he may not show it… a lot of the time but once he opens up and gets used to things he is actually not bad to live with."

Trying to use his broken arm to type was beginning to wear him out, standing up he told Conner. "I better go lay down for a little bit. Arm's starting to hurt. I'll leave the file up if you want to read up on Krypton. After all, you are a Kryptonian."

Conner took his seat after the younger boy left and read over the file for a little bit before Alfred called him for lunch. He wondered what the future was going to hold once he was adopted…

* * *

 _The following week, April 21…_

Dick adjusted his tie one more time before going down the grand staircase to the front hall to meet Bruce and Conner. Today was the big day, he was nervous and excited at the same time. The last time he had to get dressed up to go into a courtroom was the day he got adopted. His cast was finally off and now he just had his arm in a sling.

Alfred came in the front door just as Dick came down the last step. "Ah Master Dick, how are you this morning?"

"Ok, I guess, so today's the official day that Conner becomes a permanent part of this thing isn't it?"

"If the word you are searching for is 'family' then yes Master Dick it is."

Dick and Alfred walked over to the bench by the stairs and sat down, they were silent for several moments before Dick asked.

"Do you think Bruce will adopt any more kids?"

Giving the teen a kind look Alfred told him gently. "It's possible, but one does not know what the future lies in store for us. I never imagined Master Bruce ever taking in even one child let alone two."

Dick didn't know what to say about that, he looked up when he heard Bruce coming down the stairs.

"Are you two just about ready?"

Dick stood up and replied as Bruce walked up to them. "Yep, so is Clark going to be there too?"

Shrugging Bruce replied. "He told me he would, but then again who knows."

"You don't think he'll change his mind do you?" Dick asked worriedly.

"Not a chance kiddo."

Bruce walked back to the banister and said loudly. "Conner, come on, we don't want to be late."

He didn't have to shout to be heard thankfully. Moments later Conner came down the stairs, Bruce could see the boy was nervous.

"It will be alright Conner. This shouldn't take more than half an hour at best alright?"

"Yeah, and that's after they call our names. When I got adopted it took longer because there was a lot of court cases going on at the same time." Dick chimed in.

"What exactly will happen? I mean when they call us in?" Conner asked as they all walked out to the car and got in.

Bruce gave Alfred a glance as the old man got behind the wheel, at least he could answer the question this time. When he adopted Dick he had no clue what was going to take place.

"Well, the judge will swear us in, have me state my name and our address. My attorney will state our names and why this adoption is taking place. He will make sure you are aware that this is permanent and that I can provide you with proper care. He will ask you a few questions and they are not hard ones at all. Then after that, the judge will decree the adoption is final and ask if you have any belongings of value, for you, my answer will be no. For Dick, he has some of his parent's belongings that are in storage for when he grows up. You will get a new birth certificate along with a new name, well the last name that is. But my plan is to keep your last name Kent but add a hyphen plus Wayne on the end like Dick has Grayson-Wayne at the end of his."

Conner absorbed the information like a sponge, he felt himself relax and replied. "That doesn't sound too bad. What about Clark? Will they ask him any questions?"

"Most likely, they will be terminating his parental rights," Bruce answered honestly.

Conner looked out the window at the passing trees and felt himself relax once again. Dick chuckled a little and told Conner.

"Dude, it's not so bad, you have nothing to be whelmed about. Clark will lose his parental rights and Bruce adopts you, it's no big deal."

"Thanks, I guess I'm just nervous."

"That's normal, I was nervous too," Dick replied.

Twenty minutes later they pulled up to the courthouse, walking in they found what floor they needed to be on and waited outside. Bruce's lawyer walked up and told them.

"I'm surprised you called me Bruce. You didn't when it came to Richard's adoption."

Bruce shook the man's hand and told him firmly. "That's because there was no chance of someone changing their mind. I still don't think Clark will but you never know with him, Lois could persuade him. Dick was an orphan which made the adoption easier."

"That's true, it is easier when the child is an orphan compared to a child with a living relative." The older man looked over at Conner and introduced himself.

"Hi there young man, my name is Robert Harris, I'll be helping with your adoption."

Conner looked at the man's hand for a second then took it firmly and shook it. "Nice to meet you, thanks."

"You're welcome, well I'm going to go check on the proceedings, I will call you Bruce when it's your turn."

Robert went into the courtroom and came back half an hour later. He saw Clark Kent sitting with Bruce, Dick, Conner, and Alfred.

"You must be Mr. Kent. Nice to meet you."

Clark took his hand, he had met this man before and wasn't too fond of him, but keeping up appearances he smiled and said. "Likewise."

"They're ready Bruce."

Bruce got to his feet and looked down at his boys, he could see the worry in Conner's blue eyes as he slowly got to his feet, Dick was already standing with Clark on the other side. Bruce gave the boy a small grin before following his lawyer into the courtroom.

After swearing in everyone took their seats. Clark sat alone at one long wooden table while Conner, Dick, Bruce, and Robert sat at another long table. Alfred sat behind them watching.

Robert turned to Bruce. "Would you introduce yourself please."

"Bruce Wayne."

Once prompted by the attorney Clark said as well. "I'm Clark Kent, Conner Kent's father."

Clark knew he was obligated to say that, even though he really didn't want to.

The attorney then turned to the boys. Dick introduced himself then it was Conner's turn. "C-Conner Kent..."

Robert smiled and told him. "It's alright to be nervous. How old are you, Conner."

Hesitating for a second he looked between Bruce and Clark at first before saying. "16."

"Would you like Mr. Wayne to adopt you?"

"Yes, sir." Came the fast reply.

"You are aware that being adopted is permanent? That there is no turning back once the papers are signed?"

"Yes, sir." Conner felt himself relax a little.

Robert then turned to Bruce and asked. "You will provide this child with a loving home, that you are financially stable and can care for him for the remainder of his youth?"

"Yes, sir," Bruce answered.

The attorney then turned to Clark and asked. "You wish to have your parental rights removed correct? To place this young man in the care of Mr. Wayne?"

Clark noticed a worried expression cross Conner's face as he hesitated for a second before stating. "Yes, sir.

The judge then announced. "Very well, Clark Kent, I hear by remove your rights as a parent." Banging the grovel caused Conner to jump a little in his seat.

Clark then signed a paper and handed it back to the attorney to give to the judge.

The attorney then hands Bruce some papers which he signs. The attorney then askes. "Do you wish to have Conner's name changed?"

"Yes sir, but I wish for it to be hyphened like I had Richard's name Grayson-Wayne I wish for Conner's to be Kent-Wayne."

Bruce filled in the name change and signed the adoption papers officially.

Conner watched Bruce as the man handed the paper back to his lawyer who in turn gave it to the judge. The older man smiled kindly and announced that Conner Kent-Wayne was his official name now and that he was adopted officially into the Wayne family.

Clark had been there the day Dick was adopted, so this wasn't anything new to him. He just didn't feel satisfied with letting Conner be adopted. Part of him wanted to take the boy back, but then again Conner probably didn't want anything to do with him for how he acted in the past year. Knowing he would still see the team almost on a daily basis it didn't bother him.

As the family wrapped up the adoption then left the courthouse Bruce felt like his family was complete. He Didn't care that he was a single man raising two teenagers, he loved them both with all his heart.

As they got into the limo Dick's questions still hung over the young boy's head: Would Bruce adopt for the third time? If he did then who would it be? A girl this time? Or another boy?

Bruce looked over at his two sons and felt relief that this was finally over. _Now I just hope we don't have any more problems in the future…_

* * *

 **A/N:** I did the best I could with details of how an adoption process goes. I have never witnessed one, I went off an adoption sight that gave a briefing on how the process goes so let me know what you think!


End file.
